Today in the MHSAA: 8/21/17

August 21, 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. Officials: A year after being diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, MHSAA official Steve Johnson has beaten it and returned to the field to work a football scrimmage last week – ABC12

2. Volleyball: Reigning Class A champion Novi cleared a loaded Lakeshore Classic field undefeated, downing host Grand Haven in the championship match – Grand Haven Tribune

3. Volleyball: Kalamazoo Central opened with a championship at the Carrie Adams Memorial Invitational at Battle Creek St. Philip, downing among others Battle Creek Harper Creek, Portland St. Patrick, Coldwater and then Buchanan (which had advanced by beating Leland) in the championship match – Kalamazoo Gazette

4. Volleyball: After failing to do so last season for the first time in at least five, Calumet won the Kingsford Invitational now under new coach Matt Laho – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

5. Boys Soccer: Tecumseh came back from a halftime deficit to down Adrian Lenawee Christian and win the Bronson Mansfield Cougar Cup championship – Adrian Daily Telegram

6. Boys Soccer: For the 14th time in 16 season, Niles won the VandenBerg Invitational, downing Cassopolis 3-0 in the championship game – Niles Daily Star

7. Volleyball: Saginaw Swan Valley went 5-0-1 to win the Carrollton Invitational, downing Saginaw Heritage, Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker and Saginaw Valley Lutheran in bracket play – Saginaw News

8. Volleyball: Two-time reigning Class C champion Bronson opened quickly as well with five wins to claim its invitational, downing North Adams-Jerome 3-0 in the championship match – Sturgis Journal

9. Volleyball: Adrian Madison went 5-0 to win the Addison Invitational, sweeping all five opponents – Adrian Daily Telegram

10. Cross Country: Lake City swept the Northern Michigan Christian Invitational races in McBain, the girls finishing first by three points and the boys by 11 – Cadillac News

Also of note ...

Girls Golf: From last week, Brighton downed Saline by two strokes to win the Traverse City Central Ben Lober Invitational; reigning Lower Peninsula Division 2 champ Midland Dow finished fourth – Midland Daily News

Today in the MHSAA: 9/17/15

September 17, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Today’s know-your-sports checklist includes catching up on impressive feats by some of the state’s top-ranked girls golf teams and enjoying a pair of inspirational stories about leading soccer scorers.

Girls Golf

Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 4 Lake Orion won the Oakland County Division 1 Tournament for the second straight season, edging No. 6 Novi by one shot and No. 1 Rochester by two – Oakland Press

Three Spring Lake golfers carded three birdies apiece to lead the LP Division 3 No. 1 Lakers to a 53-stroke win in the Lakes 8 jamboree on their home course – Muskegon Chronicle

Boys Soccer

Freeland improved to 11-1 with its first win over Saginaw Swan Valley in three seasons, also handing the Vikings their first loss this fall – Saginaw News

Boys Tennis

Midland Dow, No. 1 in Lower Peninsula Division 2, fell to No. 3 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central at the Midweek Classic, but still won the tournament thanks to No. 6 Detroit U-D Jesuit’s win over FHC – Midland Daily News and Saginaw News

Volleyball

Ionia swept reigning Capital Area Activities Conference White champion Williamston, beating the Hornets for the first time under sixth-year coach Jeanna Kraatz – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Niles emerged as the biggest winner from the SMAC 6-Pack Tournament on its home floor with victories over Battle Creek Lakeview, Battle Creek Central and Richland Gull Lake, all in two games – Niles Daily Star

Bay City John Glenn improved to 9-1 with a win over Tawas, opening North East Michigan Conference play as the reigning champion and with nearly the same lineup as in 2014 – Bay City Times

Good Reads

We’re big fans of athletes who play multiple sports, and Port Huron’s Jon Miller is one of the latest – he’s the soccer team’s leading scorer and the top field goal kicker in school history, plus one of the football team’s leading receivers. A great line from the story: “But if there’s one kid that can take this on, it’s the kid that’s loading his senior year with as many memories as possible.” – Port Huron Times-Herald

Andrew Shippell is Marshall’s leading scorer this season, and after three years of fighting is preparing to celebrate a milestone – the end of his chemotherapy in February – Battle Creek Enquirer