Today in the MHSAA: 8/20/20

August 21, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

After five months filled with anxiety and uncertainty, high school sports returned to Michigan on Wednesday and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern's Lilia Henkel gave us all something to immediately cheer about. 

1. Girls Golf: Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern was the biggest winner on the first day of high school sports since March, winning the Muskegon Mona Shores Invitational while senior Lilia Henkel shot an incredible 60 to finish first individually – FOX 17

2. Girls Golf: St. Joseph shot a first-place 355 and Maya Hunter was medalist with a 75 at the Gull Lake Invitational – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

3. Boys Tennis: Traverse City St. Francis defeated Haslett and Lansing Catholic as senior Charlie Schmude went over 100 career wins – Traverse City Record-Eagle

4. Girls Golf: Michigan Center shot a school-record 365 to win the Hanover-Horton Invitational by nearly 40 strokes – JTV

5. Girls Golf: Traverse City West’s Anci Dy shot a 69 to lead the Lober Classic’s individual standings after the first round, while Flint Powers Catholic was the first-day team leader at 332 – Up North Live

6. Boys Tennis: Niles Brandywine earned coach David Sidenbender his 100th win with a 5-3 victory over South Haven – Niles Daily Star

7. Girls Golf: Freeland edged Frankenmuth by a stroke to win the opening Tri-Valley Conference jamboree – Saginaw News

8. Boys Tennis: Midland Dow opened 1-0-1 with a win over Grand Blanc and tie of Troy Athens – Midland Daily News

9. Boys Tennis: Bay City Western and Central both finished 2-0-1 to pace an opening quad – Bay City Times

10. Boys tennis: Coldwater earned first-year coach Nathan Waterbury his first win with the program, shutting out Brooklyn Columbia Central – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: Flint Beecher is mourning the death of longtime coach Moses Lacy, who led the program to Class B championships in 1985 and 1987 – ABC 12

Today in the MHSAA: 10/23/17

October 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. Girls Golf: Harbor Springs claimed its first MHSAA Finals championship, and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern claimed its first since 1982 on Saturday; Traverse City West also won for the second time in three years and Macomb Lutheran North won for the second year in a row but in a new division – Second Half

2. Boys Tennis: Okemos finished undefeated to claim its first MHSAA Finals title in a decade, while Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett repeated and Bloomfield Hills High School locked down its second title in three seasons – Second Half

3. Boys Cross Country: New champions rose at the Upper Peninsula Finals as Houghton, Bessemer Gogebic and Brimley claimed titles – Second Half

4. Girls Cross Country: Marquette, St. Ignace and Chassell claimed the girls titles at the Upper Peninsula Finals, St. Ignace for the first time in Division 2 and ahead of three-time reigning champion Ishpeming – Second Half

5. Boys Soccer: Division 4 No. 3 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian claimed a District title with a 2-0 win over top-ranked Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian – Local Sports Journal

6. Boys Soccer: Division 2 No. 7 Coldwater claimed its first District title in boys soccer with a 3-2 overtime win over rival and No. 6-ranked Marshall, which had beaten Coldwater twice this fall – Coldwater Daily Reporter

7. Cross Country: The Traverse City West girls, No. 7 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, finished two points ahead of rival and No. 5-ranked Central to win the Northern Michigan Cross Country Championships; West also won the boys title, by 60 points – Traverse City Record-Eagle

8. Cross Country: The St. Clair boys, No. 7 in Lower Peninsula Division 2, finished off a Macomb Area Conference White championship and also won the overall MAC title finishing ahead of 35 others from the league’s various divisions – Port Huron Times Herald

9. Volleyball: Class D No. 10 Muskegon Catholic Central won its first volleyball league title, downing Ludington and Manistee to claim the Lakes 8 Conference tournament and overall championships – Local State Journal

10. Boys Soccer: Midland Dow improved to 22-3-1 with a 1-0 Division 1 District Final win over Traverse City Central after losing in District Finals the last two seasons – Midland Daily News

Also of note ...

Volleyball: Class C top-ranked Bronson moved into the Big 8 Conference this season and finishing the volleyball league season by winning the conference tournament and outright title – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Volleyball: Whitehall beat Hart and Class C honorable mentions Shelby and Ravenna at the West Michigan Conference tournament to claim the overall league title – Local State Journal