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: 2/28/19
February 28, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Wednesday was filled with upsets galore as we kick off the headlines with a pair of Hockey Regional surprises and move into Boys Basketball Districts and a big night for Byron’s girls hoops team.
1. Hockey: Big Rapids upset its second straight ranked opponent this week, downing No. 8 Flint Powers Catholic 8-4 in a Division 3 Regional Semifinal – Big Rapids News
2. Hockey: No. 6 Detroit Country Day downed No. 3 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 3-1 in another Division 3 Regional Semifinal – Oakland Press
3. Boys Basketball: Grand Rapids Catholic Central came back from a 15-point deficit to defeat Grand Rapids Christin 71-63 in a Division 2 District Semifinal – Grand Rapids Press
4. Hockey: Division 3 No. 11 East Grand Rapids scored the game winner with 16 seconds to play in a 5-4 victory over No. 14 Grand Rapids Catholic Central – WOOD TV
5. Boys Basketball: Unionville-Sebewaing won a Division 3 District matchup of champions from the Greater Thumb Conference, downing Harbor Beach 70-51 – Huron Daily Tribune
6. Boys Basketball: Saline stunned Ann Arbor Pioneer, 63-52 in a Division 1 District Semifinal – Detroit News
7. Boys Basketball: Last place Gaylord upset Big North Conference co-champion Petoskey 49-38 in Division 1 – Gaylord Herald Times
8. Boys Basketball: Canton downed Westland John Glenn 67-61 in a Division 1 matchup showcasing two Mr. Basketball Award finalists – State Champs!
9. Girls Basketball: Byron clinched a share of the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference title, and Maylee Hatt went over 1,000 career points against Durand – Flint Journal
10. Boys Basketball: Schoolcraft avenged its two regular-season losses to Kalamazoo Hackett with a 60-58 win in Division 3 – JoeInsider.com
Also of note …
Girls Basketball: Detroit Edison’s Rickea Jackson, Grosse Pointe North’s Julia Ayrault, Saginaw Heritage’s Moira Joiner and Muskegon’s Alyza Winston were named finalists for the Miss Basketball Award – State Champs!
Boys Basketball: Mason Bakker went over 1,000 career points although Zeeland West fell to Hudsonville in Division 1 – Holland Sentinel
Officiating: Dowagiac’s Randy Melvin will retire from officiating after this week and 46 years serving high school sports – Niles Daily Star
Girls Basketball: From Tuesday, Pittsford claimed its sixth straight Southern Central Athletic Association East title with a 53-45 win over Camden-Frontier – Hillsdale Daily News