Today in the MHSAA: 8/22/16
August 22, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The kickoff of football season this week will mean fall sports are back in full force. But teams from all over the state, and especially on the volleyball court, jumped quickly into tough competition during the first weekend of the 2016-17 school year.
Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.
Cross Country
Blissfield’s girls earned the Lenawee County Preview championship Saturday with a tie-breaker to just edge Tecumseh – Adrian Daily Telegram
Boys Soccer
Crosstown programs both led by new coaches faced off as Allen Park Cabrini downed Allen Park 3-0 – Southgate News-Herald
Boys Tennis
Traverse City St. Francis won all eight flights to claim the Paw Paw Rally Against Cancer Tournament, but the host Redskins won flight "No. 9" by raising the most money of participating teams for the American Cancer Society – Kalamazoo Gazette
Volleyball
Hancock’s win at the Kingsford Invitational ended a four-year run of titles by Upper Peninsula power Calumet – Iron Mountain Daily News
It’s hard to believe, but Macomb Dakota hadn’t won a tournament championship since 2013 before sweeping Sterling Heights Stevenson to win Friday’s MCVCA Kickoff – Macomb Daily
Niles enjoyed an incredible start to the season with championships on back-to-back days, first at the Gull Lake Invitational and then over reigning Class C champion Bronson at Bronson’s Invitational – Niles Daily Star
Buchanan finished 6-0 including beating reigning Class D champ Leland to win the Battle Creek St. Philip Invitational on Saturday – Niles Daily Star
For the third straight season, Petoskey opened with a win at the Sault Ste. Marie Invitational – Petoskey 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