Today in the MHSAA: 6/5/17

June 5, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

What a weekend – 30,000 Michigan high school athletes took part in championships across eight sports, with Saturday’s Track & Field and Girls Tennis again leading the busiest day of the sports school year. 

Second Half covered all 18 Finals events, and links are included to those as well as to coverage of a number of Districts in baseball, softball and girls soccer.

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

No. 17 Grand Ledge lost a teammate to a car crash at the start of last fall, and won Saturday’s Division 1 District title with him in mind – Lansing State Journal

Algonac claimed its first District title since 2011 with a 4-1 win over No. 10 St. Clair and 6-4 victory over reigning District champ Marysville, in Division 1 – Port Huron Times Herald

Plymouth got past No. 6 Canton in eight innings, 7-6, for a Division 1 District title win – Observer & Eccentric

No. 2 Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett emerged from a loaded Division 1 District that included No. 13 Grosse Pointe North and Grosse Pointe South – Detroit News

No. 5 Centerville won its fourth straight District title, downing Marcellus in a Division 4 championship game – Sturgis Journal

No. 7 Midland downed No. 19 Mount Pleasant 3-2 and then beat Bay City Central 5-3 to claim its first Division 1 District title since 2011 – Midland Daily News

Girls Soccer

A Division 1 District Final rematch saw No. 2 Brighton advance again, this time 4-0 over Hartland – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Troy took No. 9 Bloomfield Hills to a shootout and emerged as a Division 1 champion with a 2-1 victory – C&G Newspapers

In Division 2, Allen Park downed Dearborn Divine Child 2-1 to clinch its first District title in the sport – Southgate News Herald

No. 19 New Baltimore Anchor Bay tied its school wins record of 17 with a 4-0 Division 1 District title win over Clinton Township Chippewa Valley – Macomb Daily

St. Clair Shores Lake Shore also won its first District title in this sport, defeating Roseville in Division 1 – Macomb Daily

Cadillac claimed its first District title in girls soccer, downing Mount Pleasant 1-0 in Division 2 to move to 19-1-1 this season – Cadillac News

Softball

Top-ranked Macomb Dakota trailed No. 9 Utica Ford by a run with one out left in their Division 1 District Final, but knocked in two runs to win 5-4 – C&G Newspapers

Jenny Bressler struck out 17 to lead No. 3 Plymouth past honorable mention Canton 2-0 in a Division 1 District Final – Observer & Eccentric

No. 4 Rogers City claimed its sixth straight District crown, downing No. 10 Hillman 7-1 in a Division 4 championship game – Alpena News

No. 8 Ottawa Lake Whiteford got past honorable mention Morenci 3-2 in eight innings for a Division 4 District title – Adrian Daily Telegram

Girls Tennis

The four Lower Peninsula Finals were packed with excitement, led by a near-perfect score by Detroit Country Day in Division 3 and a tie for the Division 1 title between powerhouses Midland Dow and Northville. East Grand Rapids in Division 2 and Ann Arbor Greenhills in Division 4 also were victorious – Second Half

Track & Field

A dramatic run to the Lower Peninsula Division 1 girls title by Ann Arbor Pioneer and Southfield Christian’s first championship in the sport were among highlights of many Saturday. Lansing Waverly, Adrian Madison, Marquette, St. Ignace and Lake Linden-Hubbell also won MHSAA girls track & field titles – Second Half

Final dominating performances from stars like East Kentwood’s Khance Meyers and Corunna’s Noah Jacobs were among storylines from the seven boys Finals, which saw Meyers’ Falcons, Zeeland East, Chesaning, Whittemore-Prescott, Marquette, Newberry and Rapid River claim the team titles – Second Half

Today in the MHSAA: 9/19/17

September 19, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

Today's Top 10

1. Safety: Hemlock girls tennis coach Dean Rusch saved a life while deejaying a wedding for his entertainment company, using an AED he keeps on hand as a coach – WNEM

2. Girls Golf: Top-ranked Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood edged No. 2 Macomb Lutheran North by a stroke in a match of Lower Peninsula Division 3 contenders – Oakland Press

3. Girls Golf: LPD1 top-ranked Traverse City West clinched its eighth straight tournament win, shooting a 341 to claim the Charlevoix Lady Rayder Classic by 12 strokes – Traverse City Record-Eagle

4. Girls Golf: LPD2 No. 3 St. Joseph posted an impressive win at the Point O’Wood Invitational, shooting a 356 to edge LPD4 No. 1 Kalamazoo Hackett by nine strokes – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

5. Girls Golf: Coldwater won the nine-team Onsted Invitational with a 348, its season-low tournament score – Coldwater Daily Reporter

6. Cross Country: In what has to be a first, Houghton standouts Clayton Sayen and Seth Helman decided in the home stretch of the Calumet Invitational who would cross the finish first by playing rock-paper-scissors; Chassell’s Lela Rautiola won the girls race by 39 seconds – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

7. Boys Soccer: Buckley downed Kingsley 5-1 as Ridge Beeman tallied his fifth hat trick of this fall – Cadillac News

8. Girls Golf: Pinckney improved to 10-1 in the Southeastern Conference White in its first season in the league with a 40-stroke win over Tecumseh – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

9. Fans: Redford Union has dedicated the 2017-18 school year to longtime fan and alum Jimmy Rollin, who died in July and was a supporter of the school’s teams. Union will have a moment of silence for him at the home opener for each varsity sport – Observer & Eccentric

10. Girls Swimming & Diving: Mull is a well-known last name in Lansing area swimming, and Grand Ledge sophomore Lola Mull is upholding her family’s reputation for pool excellence – Lansing State Journal