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: 11/5/18
November 5, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.
In addition to Lower Peninsula Cross Country and Boys Soccer Finals – see coverage all over Second Half – the rest of Michigan’s volleyball District title winners celebrated this weekend, as did a number of league swimming & diving champions including a few who prevailed against loaded state-ranked fields.
1. Volleyball: No. 10 Brighton Charyl Stockwell downed Whitmore Lake in Division 3 for its first District title in any sport – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
2. Girls Swimming & Diving: Holland West Ottawa, tied for No. 10 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, finished atop a field including No. 7 Rockford, No. 9 Grand Haven and T-No. 10 Hudsonville to secure the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red meet and outright titles – Holland Sentinel
3. Volleyball: No. 3 Mattawan swept No. 10 Portage Central to claim a Division 1 District title – WWMT
4. Volleyball: No. 9 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek repeated as a Division 1 District champ with a sweep of Macomb Area Conference Red title winner Utica Eisenhower – Macomb Daily
5. Volleyball: No. 2 Lake Orion won its first District title since 2015 with a sweep of honorable mention Clarkston – Oakland Press
6. Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD1 No. 4 Saline won the Southeastern Conference Red meet ahead of runner-up and No. 6-ranked Ann Arbor Skyline – Saline Post
7. Volleyball: Honorable mention Spring Lake won its first District title since 2013 with a sweep of No. 10 Whitehall in Division 2, with two of three sets decided by two points – Local Sports Journal
8. Volleyball: Onekama locked up its first District title since 2003, downing Bear Lake in Division 4 – Manistee News Advocate
9. Volleyball: Richland Gull Lake won its fourth straight District title, downing honorable mention Battle Creek Lakeview in Division 1 – Battle Creek Enquirer
10. Volleyball: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart earned its sixth straight District title, sweeping McBain Northern Michigan Christian in Division 4 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Also of note …
Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD1 honorable mention Bridgman won the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference meet just ahead of LPD2 No. 9 Portage Central – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD2 No. 5 Midland Dow followed standout Claire Newman to its 13th straight Saginaw Valley League championship – Midland Daily News
Girls Swimming & Diving: Zeeland won big at the O-K Green meet – Holland Sentinel
Football: Boyne City coach Dave Hills stepped down after 21 seasons and with a 125-45 record – Traverse City Record-Eagle