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: 10/30/17

October 30, 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. Cross Country: Lansing Catholic swept girls and boys Division 2 Regional titles; both teams are ranked No. 1, and the Cougars girls finished just ahead of No. 4 DeWitt – Lansing State Journal

2. Cross Country: Harbor Springs’ boys (No. 15 in LPD3) won their fourth straight Regional title, while No. 5 Traverse City St. Francis won the girls championship – Petoskey News-Review

3. Cross Country: Ann Arbor Pioneer swept a pair of Division 1 Regional titles; Pioneer’s girls are ranked No. 1 and the boys are No. 2 and came in ahead of No. 4 Saline – Saline Post Girls | Boys

4. Cross Country: The No. 5 St. Clair boys continued dominating with a Division 2 Regional title, while the Marysville girls won their first in more than a quarter century – Port Huron Times Herald

5. Cross Country: Northville’s girls (No. 3 in LPD1) won a Regional title ahead of runner-up No. 8 Salem – Observer & Eccentric

6. Cross Country: Pewamo-Westphalia also swept Regional titles in Division 3, the No. 6-ranked girls ahead of runner-up Byron and the No. 5 boys ahead of honorable mention Ithaca – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

7. Volleyball: Manton downed Lake City, McBain Northern Michigan Christian, Leroy Pine River and Beal City to claim the Highland Conference championship for the first time – Cadillac News

8. Boys Soccer: No. 7 Coldwater scored the game’s lone goal to claim a Division 2 Regional title over Stevensville Lakeshore – Coldwater Daily Reporter

9. Cross Country: Milford’s girls (tied for No. 10 in LPD1) edged Waterford Mott by three points to claim a Division 1 Regional title, while No. 5 White Lake Lakeland dominated the boys race – Observer & Eccentric Girls | Boys

10. Volleyball: Class A honorable mention Midland claimed the overall Saginaw Valley League championship by avenging its lone league loss to Davison at the league tournament – Midland Daily News

Also of note …

Cross Country: Sand Creek’s boys (No. 9 in LPD4) edged Hudson’s by five points to win a Regional title, while the No. 5 Hudson girls prevailed as well – Adrian Daily Telegram

Cross Country: The No. 3 Romeo boys and No. 9 Clarkston girls won Division 1 Regional titles at Algonac – Macomb Daily

Cross Country: The Brighton girls (LPD1 honorable mention) made the MHSAA Finals for the 12th straight year and as a Regional champion, and the Okemos boys (also LPD1 honorable mention) won their Regional title in a tie-breaker – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Boys Soccer: East Lansing downed Petoskey 2-0 to claim a Regional title in Division 2 – Petoskey News-Review

Volleyball: Coldwater added an Interstate 8 Athletic Conference tournament championship to a perfect run through the league this fall – Coldwater Daily Reporter