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: 10/30/19

October 30, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The regular season is speeding toward its conclusion in volleyball, and Tuesday that meant a number of championships were decided – with two matches including top-ranked teams statewide.

1. Volleyball: Division 4 No. 4 Camden-Frontier earned a second-straight outright Southern Central Athletic Association title with a four-set win over top-ranked Battle Creek St. Philip – Hillsdale Daily News

2. Volleyball: Division 1 top-ranked Farmington Hills Mercy swept No. 5 Bloomfield Hills Marian to win the Detroit Catholic League Bishop tournament championship – C&G Newspapers

3. Girls Swimming & Diving: Zeeland, an honorable mention in Lower Peninsula Division 1, got past LPD3 No. 4 Holland Christian 104-80 to clinch a share of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green championship – Holland Sentinel

4. Volleyball: Macomb Lutheran North downed Warren Regina 3-1 to finish a Catholic League Cardinal tournament championship run – Macomb Daily

5. Volleyball: Division 3 honorable mention Beal City downed Manton to lock up the Highland Conference championship for the second-straight season – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

6. Volleyball: Midland Dow earned the overall Saginaw Valley League championship with a five-set win over Grand Blanc, which had beaten the Chargers twice this fall – Midland Daily News

7. Volleyball: Marquette swept Escanaba to complete an outright championship run in the Great Northern Conference – Escanaba Daily Press

8. Volleyball: Division 2 honorable mention Onsted earned a share of the Lenawee County Athletic Association title with three more wins – Adrian Daily Telegram

9. Cross Country: The Three Rivers girls and Sturgis boys earned St. Joseph County championships – Sturgis Journal

10. Volleyball: Division 3 honorable mention Harbor Beach finished a perfect run through the Greater Thumb Conference East with a sweep of Memphis – Huron Daily Tribune

Also of note …

Volleyball: Brownstown Woodhaven finished its perfect run through the Downriver League with a comeback win over Allen Park – Southgate News-Herald