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: 6/7/18

June 7, 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. Girls Lacrosse: No. 3 Okemos earned its return to the Finals with a 10-9 upset win of top-ranked East Grand Rapids – WLNS

2. Boys Lacrosse: Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central edged No. 2 Hartland 13-12 in the night’s closest boys lacrosse Semifinal – Detroit News

3. Girls Lacrosse: No. 6 Brighton will play in its first championship game in this sport since 2011 after a 16-14 Division 1 Semifinal win over No. 7 Bloomfield Hills – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

4. Girls Lacrosse: Top-ranked Rockford downed No. 3 Hartland 25-8 to earn a shot at its sixth straight Division 1 title – WOOD TV

5. Girls Lacrosse: Reigning Division 2 champion and No. 2-ranked Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood will return to the championship game after a 22-4 Semifinal win over No. 9 Farmington Hills Mercy – Observer & Eccentric

6. Boys Lacrosse: No. 4 Birmingham Brother Rice will get a chance to play for a 14th straight Division 1 title thanks to a 10-4 Semifinal win over No. 7 Bloomfield Hills – Oakland Press

7. Boys Lacrosse: No. 2 East Grand Rapids will play to repeat as Division 2 champion after a 16-3 Semifinal win over No. 9 Grosse Pointe North – FOX 17

8. Boys Lacrosse: Top-ranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central will play in the Division 2 Final for the third straight season thanks to a 19-3 Semifinal win over No. 10 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s – FOX 17

9. Girls Soccer: No. 16 Grandville got past No. 5 Rockford 3-2 in a Division 1 Regional matchup of teams that split a league championship – FOX 17

10. Baseball: Division 1 No. 6 Grand Ledge downed Division 2 No. 7 DeWitt 4-1 to win the 57th Capital Diamond Classic title – Lansing State Journal

From Tuesday …

Girls Soccer: No. 6 Warren Regina moved on in Division 3 with a 1-0 win over No. 8 Grosse Ile – Macomb Daily

Girls Soccer: Division 3 No. 3 Detroit Country Day moved on to the Regional Final with a 3-1 win over No. 7 Macomb Lutheran North – C&G Newspapers

Girls Soccer: No. 15 Marshall edged No. 6 Dexter 1-0 in Division 2 to advance to a Regional Final – Battle Creek Enquirer