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: 2/7/19
February 7, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Team District competition began in wrestling Wednesday, but the biggest news came from the competitive cheer mat as the teams that have combined to win the last 11 Division 2 titles faced off with a league championship on the line.
1. Competitive Cheer: Allen Park ended Gibraltar Carlson’s five-year reign in the Downriver League with a 1.22-point victory; they are the highest-scoring teams in Division 2 statewide again this winter – Southgate News-Herald
2. Wrestling: Manton edged Lake City in Division 4 to claim its first District title in this sport in 18 years – Cadillac News
3. Wrestling: No. 8 Tecumseh defeated Adrian in Division 2 to clinch its 17th straight District title – Adrian Daily Telegram
4. Wrestling: No. 7 Clarkston claimed its 12th straight District title, in Division 1 – Oakland Press
5. Wrestling: Division 4 No. 8 Leroy Pine River clinched its 10th straight District title by downing Evart in the championship match – MI Sports Now
6. Wrestling: No. 7 Niles won its final seven matches to get past Stevensville Lakeshore in a Division 2 District Final – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
7. Wrestling: White Pigeon claimed its first District title since 2007 with a big win over Centreville in Division 4 – Sturgis Journal
8. Wrestling: Edwardsburg won its first District title in five years, coming back in the championship match to down Coldwater 39-31 in Division 2 – South Bend Tribune
9. Wrestling: Holland won its District Semifinal by tie-breaker before going on to down Zeeland East in the Division 2 District Final – Holland Sentinel
10. Hockey: Division 2 No. 1 Hartland continued its recent success against Brighton, downing the Division 1 No. 4 Bulldogs 4-0 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Also of note …
Perspective: There’s a lot of wisdom in this guest column from successful Richmond wrestling coach Brandon Day as he explains how things have changed for kids growing up playing sports – Port Huron Times-Herald
Girls Basketball: Asaria Turman went over 1,000 career points to lead Ann Arbor Pioneer past Saline – We Love Ann Arbor
Boys Basketball: Blake Charboneau went over 1,000 career points in leading Gaylord past West Branch Ogemaw Heights – Gaylord Times Herald