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: 12/18/17

December 18, 2017

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. Hockey: Division 1 No. 2 Detroit Catholic Central came out on top in a matchup of arguably the best teams in Michigan, downing top-ranked Brighton 3-0 in the MIHL-KLAA Challenge – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

2. Hockey: Division 3 No. 7 Houghton added a big win over a larger downstate opponent, 4-1 over Division 1 No. 7 Utica Eisenhower – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

3. Hockey: Division 2 No. 5 Birmingham Brother Rice continued its hot streak against Hartland, downing the No. 2-ranked Eagles 4-1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

4. Boys Basketball: Clutch 3-point shooting by a pair of sophomores helped Saginaw get past rival Arthur Hill 69-61 – Saginaw News

5. Cheer: Hudson rose to the top of a strong field of Division 4 teams at the Onsted Invitational – Adrian Daily Telegram

6. Wrestling: Division 1 No. 5 Westland John Glenn won the Wayne County Championships by 24.5 points ahead of runner-up Brownstown Woodhaven – Southgate News Herald

7. Wrestling: Division 1 No. 7 Oxford claimed a second straight Oakland County championship, ahead of runner-up Clarkston – Oakland Press

8. Wrestling: Niles made a major statement at the Henry Wilk Classic at Mishawaka Penn in Indiana, defeating the host for what was believed to be the first time in half a century – South Bend Tribune

9. Wrestling: Division 2 top-ranked Lowell nearly doubled up the field at the Kent County Championships, with Byron Center second – Grand Rapids Press

10. Wrestling: Essexville Garber won its second straight Bay County championship by downing Pinconning in the final match – Bay City Times

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: Detroit Henry Ford Academy’s Trevion Williams put up an incredible stat line Friday, with 22 points, 36 rebounds, six assists and six steals in a win over Detroit University Prep Science & Math – Detroit Free Press

Boys Swimming & Diving: From Tuesday, Midland Dow (No. 10 in Lower Peninsula Division 2) won its Dan Pangborn Invitational ahead of No. 4 Grosse Pointe South and top-ranked Dexter in a meet using a format that emphasized depth – Midland Daily News