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: 2/16/18
February 16, 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: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart clinched its third straight Mid-State Activities Conference title with a 61-14 win over Blanchard Montabella on a night during which it celebrated 50 years of girls basketball – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
2. Boys Basketball: Sault Ste. Marie senior Brandon Paul went over 1,000 career points as his team downed St. Ignace 49-18 to claim the Straits Area Conference title – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News
3. Girls Basketball: St. Ignace downed Newberry 68-15 to clinch the Straits Area Conference title as coach Dorene Ingalls earned her 400th victory over 19 seasons – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News
4. Boys Basketball: Novi Franklin Road Christian clinched the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Red title thanks to a last-second tip-in by Christian Banks for a 45-44 win over Allen Park Inter-City Baptist – Observer & Eccentric
5. Girls Basketball: Hillman claimed a fourth-straight North Star League Big Dipper championship with a 51-38 win over Rogers City – Alpena News
6. Girls Basketball: Reigning Class C runner-up Pewamo-Westphalia finished a regular-season sweep of rival Laingsburg 44-20 to claim the Central Michigan Athletic Conference title – Lansing State Journal
7. Boys Basketball: Petoskey clinched an outright Big North Conference title with an 86-60 win over Traverse City Central, combined with Traverse City West’s win over Cadillac – Petoskey News-Review
8. Hockey: Division 3 No. 3 Houghton downed Division 2 No. 7 Marquette 2-1 to give 19-year coach Corey Markham his 300th win – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
9. Girls Basketball: Flushing downed Ortonville Brandon 71-16 to claim a share of the Flint Metro League title – Flint Journal
10. Girls Basketball: Posen’s Cami LaTulip went over 1,000 career points during a 50-18 win over Fairview – Alpena News
Also of note …
Volleyball: Holland Christian hired former Calvin College assistant coach and assistant athletic director Laura Bindon to take over its volleyball program – Holland Sentinel