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: 10/28/19
October 28, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Finals field for Lower Peninsula cross country and Semifinals field for boys soccer are set after a weekend filled with history-making performances and led off by a pair of big-time upsets.
1. Boys Soccer: Unranked Traverse City West downed No. 1 Okemos 1-0 in a Division 1 Regional Final – Traverse City Record-Eagle
2. Cross Country: Hudson’s No. 12-ranked girls outpaced No. 5 Adrian Lenawee Christian and No. 2 Hillsdale Academy for a Lower Peninsula Division 4 Regional title; No. 7 Concord won the boys race – Adrian Daily Telegram
3. Cross Country: Leland’s girls edged Frankfort’s by a point to win their first Regional championship, in LPD4 – Traverse City Record-Eagle
4. Boys Soccer: No. 3 Novi reversed recent history against No. 7 Detroit Catholic Central with a 2-1 Regional Final win in Division 1 – Observer & Eccentric
5. Cross Country: The top-ranked Petoskey girls and Fremont boys approached perfect scores in winning their LPD2 Regionals – Petoskey News-Review
6. Boys Soccer: No. 5 Dansville took No. 7 Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep to a shootout and emerged as the 1-0 winner in a Division 4 Regional Final – JoeInsider.com
7. Cross Country: Hart swept LPD3 Regional titles for the third straight season; the girls are ranked No. 1 and the boys No. 8 – Ludington Daily News
8. Cross Country: Ann Arbor Pioneer swept LPD1 Regional titles, with Saline finishing second in both races. Pioneer’s girls are ranked No. 1 and its boys are No. 6, while Saline’s teams are No. 4 and No. 5, respectively – We Love Ann Arbor Girls | Boys
9. Boys Soccer: Unranked Ludington won its third straight Regional title, downing No. 15 Elk Rapids 1-0 in Division 3 – Ludington Daily News
10. Cross Country: The top-ranked Breckenridge boys won their first Regional title since 2011, in LPD4 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Also of note …
Volleyball: Oscoda and Hale won their division championships in the North Star League – WBKB
Volleyball: Sault Ste. Marie won the Straits Area Conference tournament – MI Sports Now
Volleyball: Division 3 honorable mention Traverse City St. Francis secured its eighth straight Lake Michigan Conference title – Traverse City Record-Eagle