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: 10/17/19

October 17, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The first District champions are in for boys soccer – and more cross country and volleyball league champs as well – but the top headline from Wednesday highlighted a game on the pitch from earlier in the Division 1 bracket.

1. Boys Soccer: Unranked Ann Arbor Pioneer eliminated reigning Division 1 champion and current No. 4 Ann Arbor Skyline in a 2-1 District Semifinal win – We Love Ann Arbor

2. Boys Soccer: No. 8 Macomb Lutheran North got past No. 13 Imlay City 3-2 to clinch a Division 3 District title – Macomb Daily

3. Boys Soccer: Dowagiac downed South Haven 4-2 in Division 3 to win its third straight District championship – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

4. Boys Soccer: Rochester Adams continued its surge by downing Lake Orion to clinch a Division 1 District title – Oakland Press

5. Boys Soccer: Salem edged Canton 2-1 to wrap up a Division 1 District championship – Observer & Eccentric

6. Boys Soccer: Madison Heights Lamphere earned a Division 2 District Final win 1-0 over Warren Woods-Tower – Oakland Press

7. Boys Soccer: Ludington finished another Division 3 District run with a 1-0 win over Shelby – MI Sports Now 

8. Cross Country: Shepherd’s girls – ranked No. 3 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – and No. 11 boys teams finished a sweep of Jack Pine Conference championships in their first season in the league – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

9. Cross Country: The LPD4 top-ranked Breckenridge boys and No. 1 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart girls completed dominating runs to Mid-State Activities Conference titles – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

10. Boys Soccer: Unranked Holland scored late to get past No. 14 Grand Rapids Christian in a Division 2 District Semifinal – Holland Sentinel

Also of note …

Cross Country: Hanover-Horton swept the Cascades Conference meet championships; the boys team is ranked No. 1 in LPD3 – JTV

Volleyball: From Tuesday, Division 3 No. 6 Centreville came back from two sets down to defeat Division 4 No. 3 Mendon and claim the Southwest 10 Conference championship, its first league title since 2001 – Sturgis Journal

Volleyball: From Tuesday, Dexter defeated Pinckney in five sets to lock up a fourth straight Southeastern Conference White title – Sun Times News

Cross Country: From Tuesday, the LPD2 No. 10 Spring Lake girls and No. 12 Sparta boys won Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue championships – Grand Haven Tribune

Cross Country: From Monday, the UPD2 honorable mention St. Ignace girls and UPD3 No. 3 Brimley boys locked up Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference championships – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News