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
Today in the MHSAA: 12/9/19
December 9, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Matchups of a number of the state’s anticipated girls basketball best topped a weekend list full of high achievers with hockey, bowling and swimming & diving also contributing to the headliners.
1. Girls Basketball: Reigning Division 3 champion Pewamo-Westphalia downed last season’s Division 1 runner-up Southfield Arts & Technology 43-31 at the Arbor Prep Ice Breaker Challenge – State Champs Sports Network
2. Girls Basketball: Hart earned its first win since 2004 over eight-time reigning West Michigan Conference champion Muskegon Oakridge, 56-34 – Local Sports Journal
3. Girls Basketball: Hartland handed a 61-40 loss to two-time reigning Division 4/Class D champion Adrian Lenawee Christian at Arbor Prep – Adrian Daily Telegram
4. Hockey: Traverse City Central took wins of 4-3 over Division 3 No. 8 Houghton and 7-2 over No. 9 Hancock during a weekend trip – Traverse City Record-Eagle
5. Bowling: Cadillac’s boys and Traverse City West’s girls repeated as Big North Conference champions – Cadillac News
6. Boys Swimming & Diving: Grand Rapids Christian, No. 3 in Lower Peninsula Division 3, earned a 108-78 win over No. 6 Hamilton – Holland Sentinel
7. Hockey: Gaylord bounced back from a loss to Traverse City West with a 3-1 road win at Division 1 No. 7 Midland – Gaylord Herald Times
8. Girls Basketball: Midland Dow got past Maple City Glen Lake 45-43 in a game that was tied at the end of each of the first three quarters – Midland Daily News
9. Girls Basketball: East Grand Rapids got past host Kalamazoo Central 66-57 at the Lady Giant West Side Showcase – JoeInsider.com
10. Hockey: Grosse Pointe South scored five first-period goals in a 7-2 win over Traverse Bay Reps – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Also of note …
Girls Basketball: Jasmine Clerkley went over 1,000 career points as Okemos got past Haslett 58-51 – Lansing State Journal
Girls Basketball: Muskegon Reeths-Puffer’s Lauren Ross scored her 1,000th career point during a 49-40 win over Greenville – Muskegon Chronicle
Girls Tennis: Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central is mourning the death of retired coach Wayne Asher, who led the girls team to two Division 4 Finals runner-up finishes over 14 seasons – Monroe News
Softball: Longtime Spring Lake coach Bill Core has stepped down with a 642-473 record since taking over the program in 1990 – Grand Haven Tribune