Today in the MHSAA: 5/6/19

May 6, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Special for Second Half

Finishes both close and historic highlighted the first weekend of May as top teams navigated the rain in many places in kicking off the final month of the regular season.

1. Softball: Grace Lehto nearly threw a perfect game as Division 2 No. 3 Eaton Rapids edged Division 3 top-ranked Millington to win the “marquee matchup” of the MI Stars Tournament – State Champs Sports Network 

2. Boys Golf: By way of a fifth-golfer tie-breaker, Gaylord – No. 10 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – edged LPD1 No. 6 Grosse Pointe South to win its invitational with a near-school record score – Gaylord Herald Times

3. Track & Field: Zeeland West’s boys won their 12th-straight Holland West Ottawa Von Ins Relays, while Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 6 Grand Haven and No. 7 West Ottawa’s girls shared their meet championship – Holland Sentinel

4. Boys Golf: Nathan Taylor finished as medalist to lead Muskegon Mona Shores to the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association championship, 30 years after his father won the same tournament – Muskegon Chronicle

5. Track & Field: The Muskegon Reeths-Puffer girls won their 10th straight GMAA title, and the Fruitport boys won their sixth straight – Local Sports Journal

6. Softball: Division 3 No. 7 Standish-Sterling edged No. 3 Sanford Meridian 5-4 to win Meridian’s invitational – Midland Daily News

7. Softball: Division 2 No. 4 Stevensville Lakeshore defeated Schoolcraft in the final to win its invitational for the first time – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

8. Boys Golf: Troy edged Rochester by 12 strokes to win the Oakland County Division 2 championship – Oakland Press

9. Softball: Muskegon Reeths-Puffer and Division 2 No. 5 Oakridge both won their fourth straight GMAA softball titles – Muskegon Chronicle

10. Track & Field: A total of 61 teams including a number of the best from multiple divisions participated at the Triangle Invitational at Saline – Athletic.net

Today in the MHSAA: 10/17/19

October 17, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The first District champions are in for boys soccer – and more cross country and volleyball league champs as well – but the top headline from Wednesday highlighted a game on the pitch from earlier in the Division 1 bracket.

1. Boys Soccer: Unranked Ann Arbor Pioneer eliminated reigning Division 1 champion and current No. 4 Ann Arbor Skyline in a 2-1 District Semifinal win – We Love Ann Arbor

2. Boys Soccer: No. 8 Macomb Lutheran North got past No. 13 Imlay City 3-2 to clinch a Division 3 District title – Macomb Daily

3. Boys Soccer: Dowagiac downed South Haven 4-2 in Division 3 to win its third straight District championship – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

4. Boys Soccer: Rochester Adams continued its surge by downing Lake Orion to clinch a Division 1 District title – Oakland Press

5. Boys Soccer: Salem edged Canton 2-1 to wrap up a Division 1 District championship – Observer & Eccentric

6. Boys Soccer: Madison Heights Lamphere earned a Division 2 District Final win 1-0 over Warren Woods-Tower – Oakland Press

7. Boys Soccer: Ludington finished another Division 3 District run with a 1-0 win over Shelby – MI Sports Now 

8. Cross Country: Shepherd’s girls – ranked No. 3 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – and No. 11 boys teams finished a sweep of Jack Pine Conference championships in their first season in the league – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

9. Cross Country: The LPD4 top-ranked Breckenridge boys and No. 1 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart girls completed dominating runs to Mid-State Activities Conference titles – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

10. Boys Soccer: Unranked Holland scored late to get past No. 14 Grand Rapids Christian in a Division 2 District Semifinal – Holland Sentinel

Also of note …

Cross Country: Hanover-Horton swept the Cascades Conference meet championships; the boys team is ranked No. 1 in LPD3 – JTV

Volleyball: From Tuesday, Division 3 No. 6 Centreville came back from two sets down to defeat Division 4 No. 3 Mendon and claim the Southwest 10 Conference championship, its first league title since 2001 – Sturgis Journal

Volleyball: From Tuesday, Dexter defeated Pinckney in five sets to lock up a fourth straight Southeastern Conference White title – Sun Times News

Cross Country: From Tuesday, the LPD2 No. 10 Spring Lake girls and No. 12 Sparta boys won Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue championships – Grand Haven Tribune

Cross Country: From Monday, the UPD2 honorable mention St. Ignace girls and UPD3 No. 3 Brimley boys locked up Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference championships – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News