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: 10/15/20

October 15, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A few more league races in volleyball and cross country came to an end Wednesday, while Boys Soccer Districts kicked off across the Lower Peninsula. 

1. Cross Country: Zeeland East’s girls claimed the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green title, its first in the sport, while Zeeland West won the boys championship – Holland Sentinel Girls/Boys 

2. Volleyball: Niles swept Buchanan to clinch the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference Red title – Niles Daily Star

3. Boys Soccer: Macomb Lutheran North advanced in Division 3 with a District shootout win over No. 3 (MPR) Richmond – Macomb Daily

4. Boys Soccer: Rochester Hills Stoney Creek edged Rochester in overtime in a Division 1 opener – Oakland Press

5. Boys Soccer: No. 13 (MPR) Maple City Glen Lake scored two second-half goals to get past Charlevoix 2-1 in a Division 4 District opener – Up North Live

6. Volleyball: Division 3 No. 10 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian finished a win over Whitehall with a 31-29 fourth-set victory to advance in the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association Tournament – Local Sports Journal

7. Boys Soccer: Hemlock opened its Division 3 District with a win over Saginaw Swan Valley – Saginaw News

8. Boys Soccer: Marcellus Howardsville Christian remained undefeated with a Division 4 District win over Lawton – WWMT

9. Volleyball: Division 2 No. 3 Cadillac improved to 30-5 with a sweep of Traverse City Central – Cadillac News

10. Boys Soccer: Essexville Garber built on its recent success with a Division 3 District win over Unionville-Sebewaing – Bay City Times

Also of note …

Volleyball: From Tuesday, Division 4 top-ranked Mendon swept Centreville to clinch the Southwest 10 Conference title – Sturgis Journal

Cross Country: From Tuesday, the Morenci girls and Erie Mason boys won Tri-County Conference finals – Adrian Daily Telegram

Cross Country: From Tuesday, Benzie Central swept the Northwest Conference championships; the boys are ranked No. 10 in LPD3 and the girls are No. 4  Benzie County Record Patriot

Boys Soccer: From Monday, Livonia Stevenson downed Division 1 No. 14 (MPR) Salem to claim the overall Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship – Observer & Eccentric

Cross Country: From Monday, Sault Ste. Marie finished championship runs in the Straits Area Conference; the boys are an honorable mention in UPD1 and the girls are No. 3 – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News