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: 9/30/19

October 1, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The race was the place to be this weekend as girls swimming & diving and girls and boys cross country invitationals produced much of our best competition and many of our top performances.

1. Girls Swimming & Diving: Farmington Hills Mercy – No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – placed first and LPD3 No. 1 East Grand Rapids second at the prestigious Pioneer Classic at EGR – Swimcloud.com

2. Cross Country: The Bridgman girls continued their perfect season and the Berrien Springs boys repeated at the Berrien County Invitational – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

3. Girls Golf: Carleton Airport won its first Monroe County tournament championship, shooting a 360 to clear the field by 21 strokes – Monroe Evening News

4. Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD3 honorable mention Trenton earned six first places to win the Downriver Classic for the third straight season – Southgate News-Herald

5. Cross Country: The UPD2 top-ranked Ishpeming boys ran their streak at their Tracy Strom Invitational to six victories, while the UPD1 No. 2 Houghton girls won their side and Negaunee’s Emily Paupore set a course record – Marquette Mining Journal

6. Cross Country: Caledonia swept Division 1 titles (the girls are No. 14 in LPD1, the boys No. 8), while the LPD2 top-ranked East Grand Rapids girls and top-ranked Otsego boys were victorious in Division 2 at the Otsego Invitational – Athletic.net

7. Cross Country: The Dearborn Divine Child (LPD2 No. 7) and Ann Arbor Pioneer girls (LPD1 No. 6) and East Lansing and Walled Lake Northern boys won Coaches Legends Classic championships – Athletic.net

8. Boys soccer: LPD2 top-ranked Richland Gull Lake edged Portage Central 1-0 to lock up the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference championship – JoeInsider.com

9. Boys Tennis: LPD3 No. 9 Petoskey earned a 5-3 win over LPD4 top-ranked Allegan – Petoskey News-Review

10. Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD2 No. 6 Midland Dow outpaced seven others to win the Tri-Cities Championship – Midland Daily News