Today in the MHSAA: 8/16/18
August 16, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.
1. Girls Golf: Northville shot a 304 to edge Plymouth and win the opening invitational at Hudson Mills in Dexter – those teams finished fourth and fifth, respectively, at last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final – Observer & Eccentric
2. Girls Golf: Kalamazoo Hackett was first, St. Joseph second and Coldwater third at the Richland Gull Lake Invitational at Bedford Valley; Hackett was fifth in LP Division 4 last season, while St. Joseph was eighth in LPD2 and Coldwater was 14th – Coldwater Daily Reporter
3. Boys Tennis: Traverse City Central opened by winning its Summer Splash ahead of Holland West Ottawa, Traverse City West and Grandville; Central tied for 14th and Grandville tied for 19th at last season’s LPD1 Finals – Traverse City Record-Eagle
4. Boys Tennis: After falling to host Zeeland East, Grand Haven stormed back with wins over Grand Rapids Northview and Grand Rapids Catholic Central; Grand Haven was an LPD1 Finals qualifier last fall – Grand Haven Tribune
Also of note …
Cross Country: Novi is mourning the death of longtime coach Robert Smith, who led the Wildcats boys to two MHSAA titles and two Division 1 runner-up finishes over 36 years from 1981-2016 – Observer & Eccentric
Today in the MHSAA: 8/24/15
August 24, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
All MHSAA fall sports but football kicked off competition last week, with cross country, boys soccer, girls swimming and diving and volleyball starting Saturday.
Below are some notable headlines from the first weekend of this season, plus links to coverage.
Cross Country
St. Johns hosted its second “Under the Lights” meets Friday; Ithaca’s girls and Saugatuck’s boys bested fields loaded with much larger opponents – Lansing State Journal
The St. Joseph girls and Bridgman boys won championships at the Niles Stampede – the St. Joseph girls, who finished fourth in Lower Peninsula Division 2 last season, by a large margin – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Girls Golf
Maple City Glen Lake’s Nichole Cox, last season’s LP Division 4 individual champion, came back to defeat Brighton freshman Annie Pietila at the two-day Lober Invitational at Grand Traverse Resort – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Boys Soccer
Two of the state’s powers met in the championship game of the Detroit Country Day Tournament on Saturday – with 2013 Division 1 runner-up Bloomfield Hills downing the host Yellowjackets 1-0 in a shootout – Oakland Press
Girls Swimming & Diving
Howell won its Kenzie Klassic, which honors swimmer Mackenize Watts, who died in 2005 at age 15. The school also raised enough money to award three scholarships and begin funding cardiac-related causes – Livingston Daily
Volleyball
Novi won the Lakeshore Classic by coming back after losing the first two games to beat Grand Haven 3-2 in a rematch of a 2014 Class A Semifinal – Muskegon Chronicle
Battle Creek Harper Creek, for the first time, won the gold championship at the long-running Carrie Adams Memorial Tournament hosted by reigning Class D champion Battle Creek St. Philip – Battle Creek Enquirer
Good Read
Mike Steele, a Midland Dow grad and now pitching coach at Long Beach State in California, argues that parents need to raise their athletes to compete instead of providing specific training in one sport – Midland Daily News