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: 1/25/19
January 25, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A number of the Lower Peninsula’s top swimming & diving teams faced off Thursday on a night that also saw a wrestling league title awarded and notable results in girls and boys basketball.
1. Boys Swimming & Diving: No. 2 Birmingham Groves edged No. 4 Midland Dow and No. 5 Rochester Adams in a tri meet of top teams from Lower Peninsula Division 2 – Midland Daily News
2. Wrestling: Onaway finished its North Star League championship run with wins over Mio and Oscoda – WBKB
3. Boys Basketball: Wyoming Potter’s House Christian continued a major surge by handing Marcellus Howardsville Christian its first defeat, 85-69 – Three Rivers Commercial-News
4. Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD3 No. 1 Holland Christian won a tri against No. 6 Grand Rapids Christian and Division 2 No. 10 Holland – Holland Sentinel
5. Wrestling: Division 1 No. 2 Brighton downed No. 6 Westland John Glenn 58-8 in a matchup of Kensington Lakes Activities Association division champs – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
6. Girls Basketball: Carson City-Crystal took over first place alone in the Mid-State Activities Conference with a 31-27 win over Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart – MI Sports Now
7. Boys Basketball: Big Rapids Crossroads avenged its lone loss with a 53-47 win over Manistee Catholic Central that put Crossroads in first alone in the West Michigan D League – Big Rapids News
8. Girls Basketball: Richland Gull Lake broke a three-game losing streak by handing Comstock just its second defeat of the season, 48-39 – Kalamazoo Gazette
9. Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD3 No. 3 Spring Lake earned an impressive 102-84 win over LPD2 honorable mention Grand Rapids Northview – Grand Haven Tribune
10. Girls Basketball: West Bloomfield held on to first place alone in the Oakland Activities Association White with a 63-53 win over Oxford – Oakland Press
Also of note …
Softball: Past Essexville Garber standout Katy Ratajczak was honored for her life-saving work last spring as she and her family traveled home from her final high school softball game – Bay City Times