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: 10/10/18

October 10, 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: Division 1 No. 2 Portage Central got past Division 2 No. 6 Mattawan 3-1 to win the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference championship match – WWMT

2. Boys Tennis: Northville – No. 5 in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – edged reigning league champion and No. 8 Novi to claim the Kensington Lakes Activities Association A tournament championship – Observer & Eccentric

3. Boys Soccer: Division 2 No. 4 East Lansing scored the game’s lone goal in the 43rd minute and made it stand in its Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup championship victory over Haslett – Lansing State Journal

4. Cross Country: St. Louis’ girls and boys teams secured Tri-Valley Conference West championships with wins at the final league jamboree; the girls are tied for No. 10 in LPD3 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun girls | boys

5. Cross Country: Brighton’s LPD1 top-ranked boys clinched the KLAA West title, and the No. 14 Bulldogs’ girls won their races led by an inspirational first-place finisher – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

6. Cross Country: Benzie Central swept championships at the Northwest Conference finals; the girls are ranked No. 7 and the boys are No. 8 in LPD3 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

7. Volleyball: Division 4 No. 2 Mendon clinched the Southwest 10 Conference title with a sweep of Marcellus – Sturgis Journal

8. Cross Country: Shepherd’s girls and boys clinched TVC Central titles with wins at the final league jamboree, both teams are ranked No. 4 in LPD3 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

9. Volleyball: Division 4 No. 10 Onaway swept honorable mention Bellaire to clinch a share of the Ski Valley Conference championship – Alpena News

10. Volleyball: Morley Stanwood clinched a share of the Central State Activities Association Silver title with a 3-1 win over Kent City – Big Rapids News

Also of note …

Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD3 No. 8 Hamilton downed No. 6 Holland Christian 98-88 led by record-setting diver Rayah Blood – Holland Sentinel

Volleyball: Division 2 No. 9 Whitehall completed a perfect run through the West Michigan Conference with a sweep of Shelby – Local Sports Journal

Boys Soccer: Division 1 top-ranked Troy Athens finished a perfect run through the Oakland Activities Association Red with a 3-0 win over North Farmington – Oakland Press

Volleyball: Division 1 No. 5 Northville swept No. 10 Novi in a key KLAA West matchup – Observer & Eccentric

Boys Tennis: From Monday, Gibraltar Carlson won the Downriver League tournament to clinch the outright league title – Southgate News-Herald