Today in the MHSAA: 6/15/16
June 15, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The first four girls soccer finalists and the 32 baseball and softball semifinalists were determined Tuesday across the state, with links below from all four soccer semifinals and some of the most dramatic diamond Quarterfinal finishes.
Baseball
New Lothrop scored six runs in the seventh inning to come all the way back and down Standish-Sterling 6-5 in Division 3 – Flint Journal
Gaylord St. Mary will play in a Semifinal for the first time since 1989 after downing Norway 6-2 – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Linden will be back in the MHSAA Semifinals for the first time since 2004 thanks to a 2-0 extra-inning win over Gaylord – Flint Journal
Dearborn Divine Child also needed extra innings to eliminate Detroit Country Day 4-3 in Division 2 – Oakland Press
Portland St. Patrick eliminated reigning Division 4 champion Muskegon Catholic Central 3-2 – Ionia Sentinel-Standard
Girls Soccer
Rochester Hills Stoney Creek dominated a 4-1 overtime shootout to come away with a 2-1 Semifinal win over Novi in Division 1 – Oakland Press
Canton dealt the first and only loss this season to Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central – Grand Rapids Press
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett returned to the MHSAA Finals for the first time since 2005 with a 1-0 win over top-ranked Lansing Christian – MLive-Detroit
Montrose will play in its first MHSAA Final in girls soccer thanks to a 3-0 win over Muskegon Western Michigan Christian in Division 4 – Flint Journal
Softball
Vicksburg scored five runs in the first inning on the way to downing reigning Division 2 champion Wayland 14-2 – Grand Rapids Press
Macomb Dakota added to this season’s firsts with its first Semifinal berth, downing Garden City 6-0 in Division 1 – Macomb Daily
Midland made its first MHSAA Semifinals in 28 years with an 8-1 win over Rockford in Division 1 – Midland Daily News
Division 4 top-ranked Coleman fell to Holton in the Quarterfinals for the second straight season, this time 6-3 – Muskegon Chronicle
Farmington Hills Mercy got past Lake Orion 11-7 in Division 1 as the teams combined for 19 hits – Oakland Press
In Division 3, 42-1 Millington earned its first Semifinal berth with a 1-0 win over Shepherd – Saginaw News
Today in the MHSAA: 8/31/15
August 31, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The final weekend of August was a giant weekend for MHSAA volleyball contenders, with some of the top regular-season events this fall providing opportunities for the best to see how they might match up when playoffs begin in two months.
Below are headlines for some of the key high school reports from across the state; the weekend’s football round-up will publish later this afternoon.
Cross Country
Muskegon Reeths-Puffer’s Maryssa Depies set a course record of 18:11.3 to win the Big Red Invitational at McGraft Park – Muskegon Chronicle
Flint Powers Catholic’s top individual finisher came in ninth, but the Chargers girls as a team were first at the Lansing Catholic Invitational – Flint Journal
The reigning Lower Peninsula Division 2 champion Grand Rapids Christian boys repeated as winner of the prestigious Benzie Central Invitational, finishing ahead of Traverse City West and Central, while Central senior Anthony Berry won individually in 15:24 – Grand Rapids Press
Boys Soccer
Tawas, a Division 3 semifinalist last season, finished first from an Elk Rapids Invitational field that included Berkley and Saginaw Nouvel – Bay City Times
Volleyball
Lake Odessa Lakewood, last season’s Class B runner-up and the second-ranked team in that class this week, eliminated Class A No. 6 Grand Rapids Christian to win the West Michigan Volleyball Officials Association tournament for the first time in a decade – Grand Rapids Press
Class A No. 4 Grand Haven continued its perfect run at its outdoor Battle of the Boardwalk tournament, sweeping three opponents to remain undefeated through the event's third year – Grand Haven Tribune
Battle Creek Harper Creek, No. 9 in Class B, improved to 17-0 by winning the Cereal City Tournament at Pennfield with a 2-1 championship match win over Temperance Bedford, an MHSAA semifinalist last season in Class A – Battle Creek Enquirer
Good Reads
The Holland Sentinel introduced its top female athletes in that area’s history Sunday, and highlighted nationally-known softball star Kathy Arendsen and her successes during one of the MHSAA’s first Softball Finals – Holland Sentinel
Anyone who follows high school football history will enjoy going through the Muskegon Chronicle’s sampling of top-20 moments from that area’s football past – Muskegon Chronicle
More than 60 former Shepherd High School players from the last 25 seasons returned for an alumni doubleheader Sunday to honor coach Jack Nartker, who will retire after this spring – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun