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: 3/1/18

March 1, 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.

Today's Top 10

1. Girls Basketball: Samantha Gehrls’ basket with six seconds to play pushed Caledonia past reigning Class A runner-up and undefeated East Kentwood, 46-45; the Falcons had beaten Caledonia by seven and 21 points earlier this season – FOX 17

2. Girls Basketball: Manchester ended Pittsford’s winning streak at 76 straight wins, two short of the MHSAA record, with a 46-45 win in Class C – Hillsdale Daily News

3. Girls Basketball: Big Rapids avenged two losses to league rival Central Montcalm by handing the Hornets their first and only loss of the season, 49-34 in Class B – Big Rapids News

4. Girls Basketball: Ishpeming Westwood avenged two regular-season losses by handing Negaunee its only defeat, 59-44 in Class C – Marquette Mining Journal

5. Girls Basketball: Rogers City broke Hillman’s 19-game winning streak with a 40-38 win in Class D after falling to the Tigers twice during the regular season – Alpena News

6. Girls Basketball: Maple City Glen Lake won its second straight Class C District title, downing Manton 55-48 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

7. Girls Basketball: Houghton downed L’Anse 46-31 in Class C to win a fourth straight District title – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

8. Girls Basketball: Bronson’s Kiana Mayer scored with 26 seconds to play to lead Bronson past Centreville, 33-32 in Class C, ending Centreville’s season at 20-2 – Coldwater Daily Reporter

9. Girls Basketball: Hartland eliminated Kensington Lakes Activities Association Gold champ Howell with a 40-37 win in Class A – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

10. Girls Basketball: Marshall moved to 11-10 with a 52-42 Class B upset of Comstock, which finished 19-2 – JoeInsider.com

Also of note …

Girls Basketball: Charlevoix sophomore Elise Stuck went over 1,000 career points in leading her team to a 61-25 win over East Jordan in Class C – Petoskey News-Review

Boys Basketball: Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Marcus Bingham, Jr., Detroit East English’s David DeJulius, East Lansing’s Brandon Johns, Clarkston’s Foster Loyer and Detroit Henry Ford Academy’s Trevion Williams were named candidates for this year’s Mr. Basketball Award – Detroit Free Press