Today in the MHSAA: 8/19/19

August 19, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The 2019 fall high school sports season kicked off across Michigan this weekend for a number of sports, with a major rematch in cross country topping the headliners from the first days of competition.

1. Cross Country: East Jordan’s boys won the Division 4 race of the Ryan Shay Invitational ahead of reigning Lower Peninsula Division 4 runner-up Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart; East Jordan finished third in LPD4 in 2018 – Petoskey News-Review

2. Girls Golf: Okemos shot a 325 to win the Parma Western Invitational, with Marshall next at 358; Okemos was third in LPD2 last season – JTV

3. Boys Tennis: Midland Dow defeated Grand Blanc and East Lansing and fell to Troy Athens at the Grand Blanc quad; Dow was third in LPD2 last season, while Athens tied for 11th in LPD1 – Midland Daily News

4. Girls Cross Country: Tecumseh and Kaitlin Knape won the girls championships at the Lenawee County Preview – Adrian Daily Telegram

5. Boys Cross Country: Nathan Letson gave Adrian the sweep of the boys titles at the Lenawee County Preview – Adrian Daily Telegram

6. Boys Soccer: Reigning Division 3 champion Hudsonville Unity Christian held off Spring Lake 3-1 – Local Sports Journal

7. Boys Tennis: Dexter edged Marshall by two points to win the opening Marshall quad, also finishing ahead of Vicksburg and Kalamazoo Christian – Chelsea Sun Times News

8. Boys Tennis: Chelsea finished four points ahead of Pinckney and five ahead of Walled Lake Northern to win the Fowlerville Invitational – Chelsea Sun Times News

9. Boys Soccer: Bloomingdale got off to a fast start with a 2-0 win over Comstock – JoeInsider.com

10. Boys Soccer: Midland Dow opened with a 5-0 shutout of Freeland – Midland Daily News

Today in the MHSAA: 8/24/20

August 24, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Cross country statewide and volleyball, boys soccer and girls swimming & diving in northern Michigan were able to kick off competition over the weekend, bringing a fresh slate of storylines to the return of high school athletics in this state.

1. Cross Country: Bay City Western ran its first dual meets in 21 years, with the boys defeating Freeland and the Freeland girls winning by two in a matchup of possible Finals contenders – Bay City Times

2. Girls Golf: Rockford edged St. Joseph by 11 strokes to win the Sydney Carfine Invitational at The Meadows – Local Sports Journal

3. Boys Tennis: South Lyon freshman Cameron Crosby dominated No. 1 singles in highlighting the season-opening Pinckney quad – Livingston Daily

4. Volleyball: Grand Haven opened with a strong showing at Cadillac, defeating the host Vikings, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern and Coopersville – Grand Haven Tribune

5. Boys Tennis: Big Rapids won back-to-back quads at Ludington and Wyoming – Big Rapids News

6. Volleyball: Petoskey edged Alpena 25-23, 25-19 to win the Sault Ste. Marie Invitational – Alpena News

7. Cross Country: Adrian Lenawee Christian swept championships at the Addison Early Bird Invitational – JTV

8. Girls Tennis: Ishpeming Westwood and Iron Mountain swept their tri-meets as the annual Kingsford Invitational was split into two round-robins to account for COVID-19 restrictions – Iron Mountain Daily News

9. Girls Golf: Parma Western shot a 380 to win its invitational by nine strokes – JTV

10. Boys Soccer: Traverse City Central outscored Manistee and Boyne City by a combined 11-0 during Saturday play – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Also of note …

Football: From last week, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and Muskegon Catholic Central are mourning the death of Cranbrook varsity coach Ben Jones, who died in a car crash; he formerly starred at MCC – Detroit News

Boys Basketball: Clinton Township Chippewa Valley coach Kevin Voss has retired after 38 years coaching basketball – Macomb Daily