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: 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