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: 5/20/19
May 20, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This weekend was one of the busiest of the spring with track & field and girls tennis Regionals, plus big-time tournament title deciders in softball, girls soccer, boys golf and baseball.
1. Softball: Division 1 No. 9 Hartland edged rival and No. 2-ranked Howell 6-5 and then downed No. 1 Clarkston 1-0 to win the Ann Arbor High School Softball Tournament – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
2. Track & Field: The No. 5-ranked Alpena boys won their first Regional title since 1944, clinching first in Lower Peninsula Division 1 at Bay City Western – Alpena News
3. Girls Soccer: Division 2 No. 2 Bloomfield Hills Marian avenged its May 9 loss to Division 3 No. 2 Warren Regina with a 1-0 win in the Detroit Catholic League championship game – Oakland Press
4. Boys Golf: LPD3 No. 2 Big Rapids shot a two-day 607 to finish ahead of runner-up and top-ranked Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian and third-place Detroit Catholic Central (No. 7 in LPD1) at the Katke Classic – Big Rapids News
5. Girls Tennis: No. 4 Traverse City St. Francis claimed its ninth straight Regional title, in Lower Peninsula Division 4 – WPBN
6. Baseball: Division 3 No. 13 Traverse City St. Francis won the Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart Tournament with a 5-1 win over Division 4 No. 9 Gaylord St. Mary, which advanced with a 4-3 victory over Division 4 top-ranked Portland St. Patrick – Traverse City Record-Eagle
7. Girls Soccer: Division 2 No. 4 Richland Gull Lake repeated as Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference Gold tournament champion with a 5-3 win over Portage Central – JoeInsider.com
8. Girls Tennis: No. 5 North Muskegon won six flight championships on the way to an LPD4 Regional team title against a field that included No. 10 (tied) Grant – Muskegon Chronicle
9. Girls Tennis: No. 3 Ann Arbor Pioneer clinched its LPD1 Regional title ahead of rival and No. 10 (tied) Huron, while Plymouth also qualified for the Finals for the first time – We Love Ann Arbor
10. Track & Field: Oak Park swept LPD1 girls and boys Regional championships – Oakland Press
Also of note …
Golf/Wrestling: Southeastern Michigan is mourning the death of Tecumseh wrestling and boys golf coach A.J. Marry, who was killed Sunday after being struck by a vehicle – Adrian Daily Telegram