Today in the MHSAA: 8/20/18
August 20, 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. Boys Soccer: Salem defeated reigning Division 1 champion Detroit Catholic Central in a shootout to claim the Balconi Invitational title at Canton – Observer & Eccentric
2. Girls Golf: Reigning Lower Peninsula Division 2 champion Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern came back to win the Lober Classic at Grand Traverse Resort, ahead of first-day leader Muskegon Reeths-Puffer – Traverse City Record-Eagle
3. Boys Tennis: Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern finished 3-0 at Traverse City West on Friday, in the process earning coach Dave Sukup the 600th match win (boys and girls combined) of his career – Grand Rapids Press
4. Volleyball: Reigning Class C champion Bronson opened with a title at the 24-team Carrie Adams Tournament at Battle Creek St. Philip – Sturgis Journal
5. Boys Soccer: Midland Dow downed Grand Blanc, Haslett and Saginaw Swan Valley during an undefeated run at the Saginaw Heritage Invitational – Midland Daily News
6. Volleyball: Muskegon Western Michigan Christian went 7-1-1 over the first two days of the season, including a 4-0 run to win the Holton Invitational – Local Sports Journal
7. Girls Tennis: Last season’s runner-up Iron River West Iron County played reigning Upper Peninsula Division 2 champ Ishpeming Westwood to a shared title at the Kingsford Invitational – Iron Mountain Daily News
8. Cross Country: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart swept the Division 3 races and Charlevoix swept Division 4 at the annual Ryan Shay Invitational – Athletic.net
9. Boys Tennis: Hudsonville, which tied for 11th in LPD1 last season, finished just ahead of Traverse City Central (which tied for 14th) to win Central’s invitational – Traverse City Record-Eagle
10. Boys Soccer: Ludington opened 3-0 with shutouts of Shelby and Fruitport and a 5-1 win over Muskegon Reeths-Puffer at the Fruitport Invitational – Local Sports Journal
Also of note …
Boys Tennis: Armada named its courts after coach Dave Fredette, who is entering his 53rd year after starting the boys program at the school – Macomb Daily
Today in the MHSAA: 8/31/15
August 31, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The final weekend of August was a giant weekend for MHSAA volleyball contenders, with some of the top regular-season events this fall providing opportunities for the best to see how they might match up when playoffs begin in two months.
Below are headlines for some of the key high school reports from across the state; the weekend’s football round-up will publish later this afternoon.
Cross Country
Muskegon Reeths-Puffer’s Maryssa Depies set a course record of 18:11.3 to win the Big Red Invitational at McGraft Park – Muskegon Chronicle
Flint Powers Catholic’s top individual finisher came in ninth, but the Chargers girls as a team were first at the Lansing Catholic Invitational – Flint Journal
The reigning Lower Peninsula Division 2 champion Grand Rapids Christian boys repeated as winner of the prestigious Benzie Central Invitational, finishing ahead of Traverse City West and Central, while Central senior Anthony Berry won individually in 15:24 – Grand Rapids Press
Boys Soccer
Tawas, a Division 3 semifinalist last season, finished first from an Elk Rapids Invitational field that included Berkley and Saginaw Nouvel – Bay City Times
Volleyball
Lake Odessa Lakewood, last season’s Class B runner-up and the second-ranked team in that class this week, eliminated Class A No. 6 Grand Rapids Christian to win the West Michigan Volleyball Officials Association tournament for the first time in a decade – Grand Rapids Press
Class A No. 4 Grand Haven continued its perfect run at its outdoor Battle of the Boardwalk tournament, sweeping three opponents to remain undefeated through the event's third year – Grand Haven Tribune
Battle Creek Harper Creek, No. 9 in Class B, improved to 17-0 by winning the Cereal City Tournament at Pennfield with a 2-1 championship match win over Temperance Bedford, an MHSAA semifinalist last season in Class A – Battle Creek Enquirer
Good Reads
The Holland Sentinel introduced its top female athletes in that area’s history Sunday, and highlighted nationally-known softball star Kathy Arendsen and her successes during one of the MHSAA’s first Softball Finals – Holland Sentinel
Anyone who follows high school football history will enjoy going through the Muskegon Chronicle’s sampling of top-20 moments from that area’s football past – Muskegon Chronicle
More than 60 former Shepherd High School players from the last 25 seasons returned for an alumni doubleheader Sunday to honor coach Jack Nartker, who will retire after this spring – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun