Today in the MHSAA: 8/23/17
August 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. Volleyball: Lake Orion emerged from what likely will end up one of the strongest volleyball quads in the state this fall, going 3-0 with wins over Clarkston, Oxford and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep – Oakland Press
2. Girls Golf: After making the MHSAA Finals last season for the first time, Hartland is rolling again after winning its Hartland Invitational by three strokes with a school-record 326 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
3. Volleyball: Spring Lake won all six matches to earn the Grand Rapids NorthPointe Invitational title and push coach Sarah Bulthuis over 700 wins for her career – Grand Haven Tribune
4. Boys Soccer: Saline avenged last season’s Regional Semifinal loss to Salem with a 3-0 win over the Rocks – Saline Post
5. Boys Soccer: Midland Dow moved to 4-0 this season with a 7-0 win over Freeland, and still hasn’t given up a goal in 2017 – Midland Daily News
6. Cross Country: The Portage Northern girls and Otsego boys won the St. Joseph Invitational, which was split into freshman-sophomore and junior-senior races and then scored as a combination of the two – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
7. Boys Soccer: Coldwater remained undefeated early this season with a 4-2 win over Kalamazoo Central – Coldwater Daily Reporter
8. Volleyball: Grand Traverse Academy went 6-0 in winning the Frankfort Invitational, also winning every set on the day – Traverse City Record-Eagle
9. Boys Tennis: Petoskey headed south and picked up a sweep over Coopersville and Holland – Petoskey News-Review
10. Boys Soccer: Alpena got on the board this season with an opening win, 3-1 over Ogemaw Heights – Alpena News
Also of note …
Volleyball: From Monday, Manistique came back from a 24-13 deficit in the second game to win 29-27 and then finished a sweep of rival Ishpeming that also included a 26-24 victory in the first set – Marquette Mining Journal
Volleyball: From Saturday, Howard City Tri-County won the Greenville Daily News Invitational powered in part by two 6-foot-2 juniors – Greenville Daily News
Did you see that? (June 3-9)
June 10, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The second of three weeks of spring MHSAA Finals came to a close with four more champions from lacrosse – plus 16 teams still alive in both baseball and softball, eight in girls soccer and 60 in Lower Peninsula boys golf.
See below for some of the biggest headlines from the week that was June 3-9.
Girls lacrosse
Champions of the west: A pair of Grand Rapids-area teams claimed the girls championships Saturday. Rockford defeated Bloomfield Hills United 16-7 in Division 1, while East Grand Rapids repeated in Division 2 with a 16-6 victory over Livonia Ladywood. (Second Half D1) (Second Half D2)
Boys Lacrosse
East-side excellence: Birmingham Brother Rice came back from an early deficit in the Division 1 Final to win its ninth-straight title by beating Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern 14-10. In Division 2, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood scored with 20.2 seconds to play to edge reigning champion Forest Hills Central 10-9. (Second Half D1) (Second Half D2)
Girls Soccer
Defensive standoff: Top-ranked Plymouth and No. 3 Novi needed a shootout to decide Friday’s Division 1 Regional Final. But Novi won that final round 2-1 to earn a 1-0 win and hand Plymouth its first and only loss this season. (MLive Detroit)
Powers survives comeback: Up 3-0 at halftime, reigning Division 3 runner-up Flint Powers Catholic advanced to within one win of returning to the Finals with a 3-2 Regional Final win over Lake Fenton. (Flint Journal)
Baseball
Oilers upend No. 1: Mount Pleasant, ranked No. 4 in Division 2, beat top-ranked Bay City John Glenn on the way to winning their Regional on Saturday. (Mount Pleasant Morning Sun)
MCC wins big: Muskegon Catholic Central moved on in Division 4 with a 9-0 Regional win over No. 2 Gobles in another of the weekend’s biggest baseball matchups. MCC entered the postseason ranked No. 5. (Muskegon Chronicle)
Softball
Dundee gets its chance: The Vikings won their first Regional championship and defeated two-time reigning Division 3 champion Clinton in the process Saturday at Blissfield. Dundee entered the postseason ranked No. 1 in the division. (Monroe Evening News)
Romeo prevails in pair of nail-biters: The No. 10-ranked Bulldogs were down to their final out before defeating Troy in a Regional Semifinal and then beat Hartland 3-0 in the championship game. Both Troy and Hartland were honorable mentions in the final Division 1 coaches poll. (Oakland Press)
Escanaba headed downstate: The Eskymos will face reigning MHSAA Division 2 runner-up Saginaw Swan Valley in a Quarterfinal for the second straight season thanks to a walk-off home run by sophomore Michelle LaFave in a 5-4 Regional Final win over Remus Chippewa Hills. (Escanaba Daily Press)
Boys Golf
SMAC East dominates: Top-ranked Battle Creek Lakeview in Division 1 and Marshall and Battle Creek Harper Creek in Division 2 all qualified for LP Finals, giving the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East three teams in this weekend’s championship tournaments. (Battle Creek Enquirer)
DeWitt outshoots No. 1: Previously unranked DeWitt shot a 313 to edge top-ranked East Lansing by a stroke at their Division 2 Regional at Gull Lake View. (Lansing State Journal)
Boys Basketball
CMU star takes over GRCC: Former Central Michigan University captain T.J. Meerman has taken over the Grand Rapids Catholic Central program after serving as an assistant coach last season at Grand Valley State University. Previously, Meerman coached the varsity at Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills. (Grand Rapids Press)