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: 4/26/19
September 26, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
September is drawing to a close, and teams in boys soccer, girls tennis and girls golf earned league championships Wednesday while a number of others edged closer to title celebrations.
1. Boys soccer: Division 1 No. 6 Midland Dow scored late to get past rival Midland 1-0 and clinch the Saginaw Valley League North championship – Midland Daily News
2. Girls Tennis: Marquette celebrated three flight champions on the way to earning the overall Great Northern Conference tournament title – Iron Mountain Daily News
3. Boys Soccer: Division 3 No. 6 Grosse Ile broke No. 10 Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central’s 11-game winning streak with its second victory this fall over the Falcons – Southgate News-Herald
4. Girls Golf: Durand won the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference tournament to lock up the league title – Owosso Argus-Press
5. Cross Country: The Adrian Lenawee Christian girls – ranked No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 4 – and No. 14 Hillsdale Academy boys won the first Southern Central Athletic Association jamboree, Lenawee Christian ahead of No. 3 Hillsdale Academy and No. 9 Pittsford among others – Hillsdale Daily News
6. Boys Soccer: Birmingham Seaholm edged Division 2 No. 8 Detroit Country Day 2-1 – Oakland Press
7. Boys Soccer: South Lyon downed White Lake Lakeland in a Lakes Valley Conference semifinal to earn a rematch with Walled Lake Western in the championship game – Observer & Eccentric
8. Boys Tennis: Ludington – No. 8 in Lower Peninsula Division 4 – earned a key Coastal Conference win over North Muskegon – Ludington Daily News
9. Volleyball: Division 3 No. 9 Saginaw Valley Lutheran moved to 15-2-2 with a sweep of Michigan Lutheran Seminary – Saginaw News
10. Boys Soccer: Clinton Township Chippewa Valley held on to first place in the Macomb Area Conference Red with a 3-0 win over Sterling Heights Stevenson – Macomb Daily
Also of note …
Football: The MHSAA is working with youth football leaders to improve participation at both levels, and Executive Director Mark Uyl spoke on the subject during the annual Update Meeting in Frankenmuth – Saginaw News