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: 5/29/19
May 29, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
District competition began in baseball and softball Tuesday and continued in girls soccer, while Regional titles were awarded in lacrosse as the MHSAA postseason rolled on.
1. Girls Soccer: No. 15 Utica Eisenhower moved on in a big way in Division 1 with a 3-0 District Semifinal win over No. 3 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek – Macomb Daily
2. Baseball: Adrian scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to upset No. 5 Chelsea 7-6 in a Division 2 District opener – Adrian Daily Telegram
3. Boys Lacrosse: East Grand Rapids scored the game’s final 11 goals in an 11-1 Division 2 Regional Final win over Spring Lake; the teams were ranked Nos. 2 and 4, respectively, entering the postseason – FOX 17
4. Boys Lacrosse: No. 2 Detroit Catholic Central finished its Division 1 Regional run with a 23-10 win over No. 7 South Lyon – State Champs Sports Network
5. Baseball: No. 6 Sterling Heights Stevenson opened Division 1 District play with a 7-0 win over Clinton Township Chippewa Valley on a no-hitter by Nick Rutkowski – Detroit News
6. Softball: Jenison opened the Division 1 District with a 10-1 win over Byron Center in a matchup of honorable mention teams – FOX 17
7. Boys Lacrosse: Hartland got past Midland 17-11 to clinch a Division 1 Regional title – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
8. Softball: Bark River-Harris clinched its second straight Skyline Central Conference title with a 5-3 win over Norway – Escanaba Daily Press
9. Softball: Hillman downed Posen 7-6 in a Division 4 opener with a walk-off single – WBKB
10. Girls Soccer: Ann Arbor Huron avenged a loss (and a tie) to Saline from the regular season with a 2-0 Division 1 District Semifinal win – We Love Ann Arbor
Also of note …
College decisions: The Petoskey News-Review and Gaylord Herald-Times put together a three-part series on high school athletes deciding to continue athletics after their time at the prep level is complete, and the challenges and rewards of competing at the collegiate level – Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
Girls Basketball: Assistant Tim Webb will take over the Detroit Country Day program from retired Frank Orlando – State Champs Sports Network