Today in the MHSAA: 6/9/16

June 9, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The Girls and Boys Lacrosse Semifinals gave us our championship contenders for Saturday's games, and they were joined as well Wednesday by key soccer wins and a pair of baseball milestones.

Boys Lacrosse

Birmingham Brother Rice will play for its 12th straight Division 1 championship after downing Detroit U-D Jesuit 17-4 in a Semifinal – Oakland Press

Detroit Catholic Central held Detroit County Day scoreless during the second half to advance in Division 1 with a 13-5 Semifinal win – Oakland Press

East Grand Rapids downed Okemos 16-15 in double overtime to get back to the Division 2 Final – Grand Rapids Press

After falling to Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in the postseason the last three years, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central earned a championship game berth with a 17-7 win over the Cranes – Grand Rapids Press

Girls Lacrosse

Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood started on a 7-0 run in downing Farmington Hills Mercy 22-4 in a Division 2 Semifinal – Oakland Press

Four-time reigning Division 2 champion East Grand Rapids will play for a fifth straight title after downing Okemos 14-7 in a Semifinal – Grand Rapids Press

Three-time reigning Division 1 champion Rockford earned another trip to the Finals with a 23-7 win over Hartland – Livingston Daily

Birmingham United advanced to its first MHSAA lacrosse championship game since 2012 with a 16-4 win over Ann Arbor Pioneer in Division 1.

Girls soccer

The closest of four Regional games across the state came in Division 4, where Montrose got past Harbor Springs 2-0 – Petoskey News

Baseball

Shepherd baseball coach Jack Nartker retired after 27 seasons and a final 5-4 win over Beal City; his record is 647-288-7 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Grand Ledge avenged a District loss to Holt with a comeback win to claim the Capital Area Diamond Classic championship 7-3 and finish 31-4 – Lansing State Journal

Today in the MHSAA: 8/23/17

August 23, 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. Volleyball: Lake Orion emerged from what likely will end up one of the strongest volleyball quads in the state this fall, going 3-0 with wins over Clarkston, Oxford and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep – Oakland Press

2. Girls Golf: After making the MHSAA Finals last season for the first time, Hartland is rolling again after winning its Hartland Invitational by three strokes with a school-record 326 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

3. Volleyball: Spring Lake won all six matches to earn the Grand Rapids NorthPointe Invitational title and push coach Sarah Bulthuis over 700 wins for her career – Grand Haven Tribune

4. Boys Soccer: Saline avenged last season’s Regional Semifinal loss to Salem with a 3-0 win over the Rocks – Saline Post

5. Boys Soccer: Midland Dow moved to 4-0 this season with a 7-0 win over Freeland, and still hasn’t given up a goal in 2017 – Midland Daily News

6. Cross Country: The Portage Northern girls and Otsego boys won the St. Joseph Invitational, which was split into freshman-sophomore and junior-senior races and then scored as a combination of the two – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

7. Boys Soccer: Coldwater remained undefeated early this season with a 4-2 win over Kalamazoo Central – Coldwater Daily Reporter

8. Volleyball: Grand Traverse Academy went 6-0 in winning the Frankfort Invitational, also winning every set on the day – Traverse City Record-Eagle

9. Boys Tennis: Petoskey headed south and picked up a sweep over Coopersville and Holland – Petoskey News-Review

10. Boys Soccer: Alpena got on the board this season with an opening win, 3-1 over Ogemaw Heights – Alpena News

Also of note …

Volleyball: From Monday, Manistique came back from a 24-13 deficit in the second game to win 29-27 and then finished a sweep of rival Ishpeming that also included a 26-24 victory in the first set – Marquette Mining Journal

Volleyball: From Saturday, Howard City Tri-County won the Greenville Daily News Invitational powered in part by two 6-foot-2 juniors – Greenville Daily News