Today in the MHSAA: 6/12/17
June 12, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
MHSAA champions in Lower Peninsula boys golf and girls and boys lacrosse were crowned Saturday as the 2016-17 school year turned into its final week. The final eight spots in the Girls Soccer Semifinals also were determined Friday, with 32 quarterfinalists in baseball and softball earning their way in Saturday Regionals.
Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.
Baseball
Corunna claimed its first Regional title since 2005, downing No. 12 Fowlerville in Division 2 after the Gladiators had eliminated No. 5 DeWitt earlier in the day – Owosso Argus-Press
Rochester scored eight runs during the seventh inning to win a Division 1 Regional Final over No. 5 Birmingham Brother Rice – C&G Newspapers
No. 10 Gaylord St. Mary scored most in an offensive shootout, downing No. 9 Maple City Glen Lake 13-10 in a Division 4 Regional Final – Gaylord Herald-Times
No. 12 Saginaw Heritage shut out No. 7 Midland 3-0 to finish a Division 1 Regional title run – Midland Daily News
Macomb Lutheran North hit three home runs in upsetting No. 2 Detroit Country Day 19-5 in a Division 2 Regional Final – Macomb Daily
No. 4 Homer put up five runs in the sixth inning to get past Michigan Center 7-6 in Division 3 – Jackson Citizen Patriot
No. 14 Holt downed Howell 3-1 and then No. 17 Grand Ledge 5-4 to claim its first Regional title, in Division 1 – Lansing State Journal
Boys Golf
Detroit Catholic Central claimed its third straight Division 1 title, St. Johns repeated in Division 2 and Clarkston Everest Collegiate repeated in Division 4, and Jackson Lumen Christi returned to the top of Division 3 at Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Finals – Second Half
Boys Lacrosse
Birmingham Brother Rice won its 13th straight Division 1 title, again over rival Detroit Catholic Central, while East Grand Rapids won the Division 2 title over rival Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central – Second Half
Girls Lacrosse
In one of the all-time thrillers in MHSAA lacrosse history, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood downed East Grand Rapids in overtime for the Division 2 title, while Rockford added its fifth straight championship in Division 1 – Second Half
Girls Soccer
Top-ranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central jumped out to a three-goal lead and didn’t look back in a 3-1 Semifinal win over No. 2 Brighton in Division 1 – Grand Rapids Press
No. 7 Linden edged reigning Division 2 champion and current No. 3 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep to advance to this week – Flint Journal
Saline and No. 11 Plymouth went into a shootout scoreless, but the Hornets emerged victorious in Division 1 – Saline Post
Top-ranked Flint Powers advanced in Division 3 with a 5-0 win over No. 16 Lansing Catholic – Flint Journal
No. 8 Macomb Lutheran North also advanced in Division 3 with a shootout win over No. 5 Grosse Ile – Southgate News Herald
No. 3 Freeland won a fourth straight Regional title, downing Charlevoix 5-0 in Division 3 – Saginaw News
Top-ranked Lansing Christian won its fifth straight Regional title, downing No. 14 Manchester 4-1 in Division 4 – MLive-Lansing
Top-ranked Bloomfield Hills Marian remained undefeated with a 2-0 Division 2 win over No. 6 Dexter – Observer & Eccentric
Softball
Shepherd downed Pinconning and then beat No. 8 Beaverton 8-7 in a Division 3 Regional Final – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Reigning Division 2 champion and current No. 2 Richmond needed nine innings but downed honorable mention Detroit Country Day 2-1 in a Division 2 Regional Final – Port Huron Times Herald
Twice No. 6 Holton rallied in seventh innings Saturday, the second time in an 8-7 win over Beal City, to claim a Division 4 Regional title – Muskegon Chronicle
No. 5 Mattawan downed No. 2 Howell in a Division 1 Regional for the third straight season – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Alicia Ascencio’s three-run walk-off homer pushed Garden City past Grosse Pointe North in a Division 1 Regional Final – Observer & Eccentric
No. 6 Stevensville Lakeshore gave up two runs total in wins over No. 4 Vicksburg and Edwardsburg to claim the Division 2 title – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
No. 5 Coleman advanced to a third straight Division 4 Quarterfinal with a 12-6 win over honorable mention Morrice – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Mendon won its first Regional title since 1992, downing Camden-Frontier, after entering the postseason with a sub-.500 record – Sturgis Journal
Today in the MHSAA: 10/19/16
October 19, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
District soccer continued Tuesday and league champions were crowned in volleyball and cross country all over the Lower Peninsula – but the must-see stories are a pair of “good reads” coming out of the Jackson and Alpena areas.
Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.
Cross Country
The Caro boys – No. 4 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – and the No. 6 Shepherd girls won championships at the Tri-Valley Conference all-division final – Saginaw News
The Ubly girls and boys teams repeated as East champions at the Greater Thumb Conference championship race (Ubly's girls are No. 9 in LPD4), and the Reese girls and LPD4 honorable mention Cass City boys repeated as West winners – Huron Daily Tribune
Traverse City West swept the final Big North Conference jamborees, the West boys earning the league title and the Central girls finishing as overall league champion for the 14th straight season. The Central girls are No. 4 in LPD1 and the West girls are an honorable mention – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Harbor Springs’ boys (No. 2 LPD4) kept their undefeated season going with a third straight Lake Michigan Conference final championship, and Traverse City St. Francis (No. 2 LPD3) clinched the girls title – Petoskey News-Review
Boys Soccer
Division 1 No. 2 Portage Northern moved on with a 4-1 District win over Lansing Everett thanks to three goals by Ryan Melgar – Kalamazoo Gazette
Adrian Lenawee Christian freshman Zach Riordan set his school’s scoring record of 36 goals in an 8-0 Division 4 win over Clinton – Adrian Daily Telegram
Girls Swimming & Diving
LPD1 No. 2 Saline got past No. 10 Brighton 112-74 in a matchup of top Division 1 teams – Saline Post
Volleyball
Walled Lake Central repeated as Lakes champion in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association with a five-set win over Brighton – Livingston Daily Argus & Press
Class A top-ranked Novi swept Canton to win its fourth straight KLAA Kensington championship – Oakland Press
Marine City improved to 8-1 in the Macomb Area Conference Gold and clinched a share of the league title with a three-set win over Warren Mott – Port Huron Times Herald
Good Reads
The story of Brooklyn Columbia Central standout running back Micah Raby is captivating, if not from this passage alone about how his adopted parents found him: “Inside the missionary’s hut, on an ordinary table lay an ordinary bible box containing an extraordinary sight, and it caught Doug and Sandy Raby’s eyes and hearts immediately. Inside that bible box – no bigger than a size 10 shoebox – was a 1-month-old boy named Joseph, one of two surviving triplets. His brother did not survive the birth and the birth parents decided to keep the other one, believed to be a girl, because it was the biggest and had the greatest chance of surviving.” – Jackson Citizen-Patriot
Lincoln Alcona announcer Don Franklin first gave voice to the school’s athletic events in 1967, and will retire at the end of this school year with 50 years on the microphone announcing football and a number of other sports over a half century – Alpena News