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: 2/26/18

February 26, 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. Wrestling: Lowell downed Gaylord to tie the record for most consecutive Team Finals championships with its fifth straight, while Detroit Catholic Central shut out Brighton, Dundee edged Richmond and Hudson repeated Saturday at Wings Events Center. All four entered the postseason ranked No. 1 in their respective divisions – Second Half

2. Competitive Cheer: No. 2 Sanford Meridian Early College edged top-ranked Farwell by three points to claim its second Division 4 Regional title in three seasons – Midland Daily News

3. Boys Swimming & Diving: Lower Peninsula Division 1 honorable mention Novi upset No. 5 Northville by just 20 points to claim its second straight Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship – Observer & Eccentric

4. Boys Basketball: Detroit U-D Jesuit came back from six down in the fourth quarter to win its sixth straight Catholic League A-B championship with a 64-55 win over Warren DeLaSalle – Detroit Free Press

5. Girls & Boys Bowling: The Division 1 No. 5 Brownstown Woodhaven girls and Division 2 No. 5 New Boston Huron boys repeated as Regional champions – Southgate News Herald

6. Boys Bowling: The No. 7 Sturgis boys edged No. 4 Battle Creek Pennfield to claim a Division 2 Regional title – Sturgis Journal

7. Girls Bowling: Unranked Muskegon Mona Shores won the Division 2 Regional at Sherman Lanes by more than 300 pins – Local Sports Journal

8. Boys Swimming & Diving: Allen Park and Gibraltar Carlson tied for first at the Downriver League meet, giving Allen Park the overall league title – Southgate News Herald

9. Hockey: Lake Orion came back during the third period to down Rochester Hills Stoney Creek 3-2 and claim a second straight Oakland Activities Association Red title – Oakland Press

10. Boys Basketball: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood claimed its first Catholic League tournament title with a 52-36 win over Madison Heights Bishop Foley – Observer & Eccentric

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: Coldwater needed overtime but finished a comeback win over Hastings 61-54 to earn the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference title – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Boys Basketball: Undefeated Unionville-Sebewaing claimed a share of the Greater Thumb Conference West title with a 51-35 win over Elkton-Pigeon-Bayport Laker – Huron Daily Tribune

Boys Basketball: Bear Lake clinched a share of the West Michigan D League championship with a win over Pentwater – Manistee News Advocate

Boys Swimming & Diving: Ludington clinched the Coastal Conference championship – Ludington Daily News

Hockey: Holland West Ottawa earned a share of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier 2 title with a 6-5 win over Byron Center – Holland Sentinel

Boys Bowling: Scottville Mason County Central freshman Michael Lammi won a Division 4 Regional singles championship – Ludington Daily News