Today in the MHSAA: 6/3/16

June 3, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Nine Upper Peninsula teams won the first MHSAA Finals championships awarded this spring season Thursday, while a number of Lower Peninsula teams positioned themselves for trophy hunts this weekend and beyond.

Girls Golf

Escanaba, Cedarville and Iron Mountain provided some surprises and streak breakers in winning MHSAA Upper Peninsula Finals – Second Half

Boys Golf

The top three ranked teams in Lower Peninsula Division 2 played in the same Regional on Thursday – with top ranked Ada Forest Hills Eastern finishing two strokes ahead of No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern and four ahead of No. 3 St. Johns as all three advanced to next weekend – Grand Rapids Press

Jackson Lumen Christi, No. 2 in LP Division 3, won its 11th straight Regional title – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Houghton won its third straight MHSAA title, Carney-Nadeau repeated and St. Ignace also won a championship at Upper Peninsula Finals – Second Half

Girls Soccer

Bay City Western avenged an earlier 5-0 loss with a 1-0 win over Midland in a Division 1 District Semifinal – Bay City Times

Traverse City West downed rival Traverse City Central 1-0 with the lone goal coming in overtime – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Division 1 No. 6 Bloomfield Hills needed a shootout to get past Waterford Mott, 1-0 – Oakland Press

Fennville downed Dowagiac 1-0 in Division 3 to advance to a District Final for the first time – Holland Sentinel

Boys Tennis

Ishpeming Westwood ran its MHSAA title streak to three straight, while a pair of powers shared the Division 1 title – Second Half

Good Read

We’re big fans of playing more than one high school sport, and so we’re big fans of the work of Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills senior Alexis Baskin, who recently received the Michigan High School Coaches Association Rich Tompkins Multi-Sport Athlete Award after earning a combined 12 letters in volleyball, basketball and track & field – Grand Rapids Press

Today in the MHSAA: 10/2/19

October 2, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Notable accomplishments from all over filled a busy Wednesday, and we also share today good news about a Michigan high school alumnus-now-world champion, realignment of the state’s largest league and a sportsmanship story that rang out loud and clear.

1. Girls Golf: Northville – ranked No. 1 in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – shot a 313 to outpace runner-up and No. 3-ranked Brighton and win the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Tournament – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

2. Boys Soccer: Division 1 top-ranked Troy Athens clinched the Oakland Activities Association Red championship with a 5-0 win over Rochester Adams – Oakland Press

3. Volleyball: Hudsonville – No. 2 in Division 1 – edged Division 2 top-ranked Grand Rapids Christian 3-2 – FOX 17

4. Boys Soccer: Division 1 No. 2 Okemos defeated Division 3 No. 7 Williamston, and D3 No. 6 Lansing Catholic downed Division 2 No. 4 DeWitt to advance to the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup championship game – Lansing State Journal

5. Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD3 No. 8 Holland Christian got past rival and LPD2 honorable mention Holland 107-76 – Holland Sentinel

6. Volleyball: Division 4 No. 1 Southfield Christian downed No. 8 Auburn Hills Oakland Christian in four games – Oakland Press

7. Boys Soccer: Lake Orion drew with Division 1 No. 10 Bloomfield Hills to open up the OAA White title race to four teams heading into the league finale later this week – Oakland Press

8. Volleyball: Melina Robertson set a Sault Ste. Marie career assists record during a three-set win over Boyne City – MI Sports Now

9. Boys Soccer: Traverse City West and Division 2 No. 15 Gaylord drew 2-2, with the second-place Blue Devils adding a tie to the Titans’ otherwise perfect Big North Conference-winning record – Traverse City Record-Eagle

10. Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD2 No. 6 Midland Dow traveled to St. Johns and swept the Redwings and honorable mention Fenton as Claire Newman swam to three pool records – Midland Daily News

Also of note …

O-K Conference: The Ottawa-Kent Conference approved a realignment proposal after two previous failed to pass – Grand Rapids Press

Track & Field – Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills 2015 graduate Donavan Brazier broke a 34-year-old American record in winning the 800-meter world championship – FOX 17

Band: Maple City Glen Lake doesn’t have a marching band, and Fife Lake Forest Area’s football team isn’t finishing the season – so Glen Lake brought Forest Area’s band to play at its game Friday – Up North Live