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: 11/11/19
November 11, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
District week of the MHSAA Volleyball Tournament closed with more champions earning their way to Regionals, but swimming & diving earned the brightest weekend headlines with power-packed league meets and historic accomplishments.
1. Girls Swimming & Diving: Saline – No. 4 in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – edged top-ranked Ann Arbor Pioneer by 16 points to win the Southeastern Conference Red meet – Saline Post
2. Girls Swimming & Diving: Grand Blanc won the Saginaw Valley League meet, ending LPD2 No. 7 Midland Dow’s 13-year hold on the title – Midland Daily News
3. Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD2 No. 6 Dexter won its 22nd straight league championship, finishing ahead of runner-up and LPD3 No. 9 Chelsea at the Southeastern Conference White meet – Chelsea Sun Times News
4. Girls Swimming & Diving: No. 5 Northville was first, No. 9 Novi second and No. 7 Brighton third at the Kensington Lakes Activities Association meet – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
5. Volleyball: Escanaba swept Menominee in Division 2 to claim its first District title in this sport – Escanaba Daily Press
6. Volleyball: Jackson Northwest won the final two sets of a five-set victory over Okemos in Division 1 to claim its first District title in this sport since 2001 – Jackson Citizen Patriot
7. Volleyball: Niles Brandywine avenged last month’s league-deciding loss to honorable mention Bridgman with a five-set Division 3 District title win – Niles Daily Star
8. Volleyball: Sterling Heights Stevenson went to an 18-16 fifth-set win to get past Macomb Dakota for a Division 1 District title – Macomb Daily
9. Volleyball: Ann Arbor Skyline repeated as a Division 1 District champion with a sweep of honorable mention Saline – We Love Ann Arbor
10. Volleyball: Honorable mention Edwardsburg swept Buchanan in Division 2 to finish a third straight District title run – Niles Daily Star
Also of note …
Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD1 honorable mention Zeeland finished an outright Ottawa-Kent Conference Green championship with a league meet win – Holland Sentinel
Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD1 No. 3 Rockford edged honorable mention Holland West Ottawa to claim the O-K Red meet title – Holland Sentinel
Volleyball: From Thursday, Ionia defeated Central Montcalm in five sets in Division 2 to earn its first District championship in this sport since 1977 – Greenville Daily News