Today in the MHSAA: 6/13/16

June 13, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Tawas and Clarkston Everest Collegiate won their first MHSAA titles in any sport Saturday, in boys golf, as teams in six sports claimed either Regional or Finals championships over the weekend.

Baseball

Holland Christian won its Division 2 Regional with a walk-off double by star pitcher Mike Mokma – Holland Sentinel

Detroit Country Day’s walk-off homer in the eighth inning pushed the Yellowjackets past reigning Division 2 champion Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 4-3 – Oakland Press

Scottville Mason County Central downed Carson City-Crystal 8-5 in Division 3 to win its first Regional title since 1998 – Muskegon Chronicle

Niles in Division 2 won its first Regional title since 1999 by downing Sturgis after beating top-ranked Coldwater in the day’s first game – Niles Daily Star

Rochester’s last late run pushed it past Adams in Division 1 and to its first Regional title since 1998 – Oakland Press

Boys Golf

Tawas and Clarkston Everest Collegiate won their first MHSAA Finals championships in any sport, while St. Johns won its first in boys golf and Detroit Catholic Central continued its reign in Division 1 – Second Half

Boys Lacrosse

Birmingham Brother Rice continued its 12-year hold on Division 1 and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central returned to the top in Division 2 at Saturday’s Finals – Second Half

Girls Lacrosse

For the fourth and fifth straight seasons, respectively, Rockford and East Grand Rapids reigned again at Saturday’s Girls Lacrosse Finals – Second Half

Girls Soccer

Grosse Ile downed Williamston 1-0 in Division 3 to win its first Regional title in the sport – Macomb Daily

Softball

Reigning Division 4 champion Unionville-Sebewaing survived two more strong opponents to win its Regional with a 1-0 win over Brown City and then 3-0 win over Waterford Our Lady – Huron Daily Tribune

Reigning Division 3 champion Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central downed No. 8 Napoleon 9-1 and then No. 4 Clinton 7-1 to advance again – Monroe Evening News

Farmington Hills Mercy repeated as a Division 1 Regional champ and slugger Abby Krzywiecki knocked her 20th home run of the season – Detroit News

Shepherd in Division 3 won its first Regional title since 1997 beating No. 9 Reese in the championship game – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Macomb Dakota downed two opponents in shutouts to win its first Regional title, in Division 1 – Macomb Daily

Today in the MHSAA: 9/17/15

September 17, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Today’s know-your-sports checklist includes catching up on impressive feats by some of the state’s top-ranked girls golf teams and enjoying a pair of inspirational stories about leading soccer scorers.

Girls Golf

Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 4 Lake Orion won the Oakland County Division 1 Tournament for the second straight season, edging No. 6 Novi by one shot and No. 1 Rochester by two – Oakland Press

Three Spring Lake golfers carded three birdies apiece to lead the LP Division 3 No. 1 Lakers to a 53-stroke win in the Lakes 8 jamboree on their home course – Muskegon Chronicle

Boys Soccer

Freeland improved to 11-1 with its first win over Saginaw Swan Valley in three seasons, also handing the Vikings their first loss this fall – Saginaw News

Boys Tennis

Midland Dow, No. 1 in Lower Peninsula Division 2, fell to No. 3 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central at the Midweek Classic, but still won the tournament thanks to No. 6 Detroit U-D Jesuit’s win over FHC – Midland Daily News and Saginaw News

Volleyball

Ionia swept reigning Capital Area Activities Conference White champion Williamston, beating the Hornets for the first time under sixth-year coach Jeanna Kraatz – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Niles emerged as the biggest winner from the SMAC 6-Pack Tournament on its home floor with victories over Battle Creek Lakeview, Battle Creek Central and Richland Gull Lake, all in two games – Niles Daily Star

Bay City John Glenn improved to 9-1 with a win over Tawas, opening North East Michigan Conference play as the reigning champion and with nearly the same lineup as in 2014 – Bay City Times

Good Reads

We’re big fans of athletes who play multiple sports, and Port Huron’s Jon Miller is one of the latest – he’s the soccer team’s leading scorer and the top field goal kicker in school history, plus one of the football team’s leading receivers. A great line from the story: “But if there’s one kid that can take this on, it’s the kid that’s loading his senior year with as many memories as possible.” – Port Huron Times-Herald

Andrew Shippell is Marshall’s leading scorer this season, and after three years of fighting is preparing to celebrate a milestone – the end of his chemotherapy in February – Battle Creek Enquirer