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: 10/17/18
October 17, 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.
1. Boys Soccer: No. 6 Okemos downed No. 2 Portage Central 3-2 in overtime in a Division 1 District opener – JoeInsider.com
2. Boys Soccer: No. 2 Hudsonville Unity Christian scored all of its goals during the second half to come back and down No. 4 Grand Rapids South Christian 3-1 in Division 3 – FOX 17
3. Cross Country: The Traverse City Central girls, No. 6 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, and Alpena boys claimed Big North Conference championships – Traverse City Record-Eagle | Alpena News
4. Volleyball: Livonia Churchill secured the Kensington Lakes Activities Association East title with a 3-1 win over Stevenson – Observer & Eccentric
5. Boys Soccer: Travers City West scored both goals in the second half to get past rival Traverse City Central 2-1 in Division 1 – MI Sports Now
6. Cross Country: Fremont (boys LPD2 No. 5, girls No. 14) swept the final Central State Activities Association Gold meets, locking up the boys league title and sharing the girls with No. 12 Remus Chippewa Hills – Big Rapids News
7. Volleyball: Mount Pleasant downed Saginaw Heritage in four games to finish an outright Saginaw Valley League North title, its first league championship since 2006 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
8. Cross Country: The Muskegon Western Michigan Christian teams (girls LPD4 No. 3, boys No. 6) clinched Lakes 8 Conference championships, and Spring Lakes’ teams (girls LPD2 T-No. 10, boys No. 4), finished a sweep in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue – Grand Haven Tribune
9. Cross Country: The Hillsdale Academy boys and Pittsford girls (LPD4 No. 4) won Southern Central Athletic Association championship races, while Otsego’s teams (boys LPD2 No. 2, girls No. 5) swept in the Wolverine Conference – Sturgis Journal
10. Volleyball: Division 3 honorable mention Adrian Madison locked up an outright Tri-County Conference title with a sweep of Sand Creek – Adrian Daily Telegram
Also of note:
Cross Country: From Monday, St. Ignace’s girls and Brimley’s boys finished Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference title runs – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News