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: 9/25/15

September 25, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Here’s some great Friday morning reading, including a look at some of the special impacts made on the football field from a coach fighting to stay on the sideline and two more recently retired from it.

Girls Golf

Frankenmuth saw all of its scoring records fall this week, for 18-hole team, 18-hole individual, 9-hole team and 9-hole individual – Saginaw News

Boys Soccer

Portage Central rebounded off its first loss of the season earlier this week to beat Division 2 No. 19 Stevensville Lakeshore 1-0 – Kalamazoo Gazette

Volleyball

Class A No. 4 Grand Haven downed No. 10 Rockford 3-1, gaining an edge in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red standings – Muskegon Chronicle 

Class D No. 10 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart lost the first set against annual power Beal City but came back to win the next three – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Good Reads

Gibraltar Carlson’s Zach Kohn stars in three sports, managing his time to train for them all, and locked down a Division I scholarship for baseball – Monroe Evening News

Battle Creek Harper Creek’s Ed Greenman and Battle Creek Pennfield’s Nick Koenigsknecht stepped away from the football sideline this season after a combined 44 years. They share some of their thoughts from the other side of the field – Battle Creek Enquirer

Tonight’s Richmond/Almont football game will be “Kocher Strong Night” in honor of Richmond co-coach John Kocher, who continues his fight against cancer – Port Huron Times-Herald