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: 2/27/17

February 27, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The MHSAA postseason is fully in motion, as girls basketball and boys hockey teams begin postseason play tonight and we look back on the Team Wrestling Finals, Bowling and Cheer Regionals and league swimming & diving meets from the weekend.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state. 

Boys Basketball

Sault Ste. Marie completed a perfect run through the Straits Area Conference with a 54-34 win over Rudyard – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Carney-Nadeau fell to Crystal Falls Forest Park 51-38, but Wolves standout golfer Hunter Eichhorn scored his 1,000th basketball point – Escanaba Daily Press

Detroit U-D Jesuit won a record fifth straight Catholic League A-B title, downing Warren DeLaSalle 63-56 in the championship game – Macomb Daily

Macomb Lutheran North got past Riverview Gabriel Richard 70-62 to claim the Catholic League C-D title – C&G Newspapers

Bowling

The Ithaca boys may be in Division 3 this season instead of Division 4, but the success is the same as the No. 4 Yellowjackets won their Regional ahead of reigning MHSAA champion and top-ranked Saginaw Swan Valley – Saginaw News

Coldwater’s boys, ranked No. 4 in Division 2, won their third straight Regional championship, this time by 72 pins – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Bad Axe’s Melissa Steinbis added a Regional title to her league championship while competing as one of only a few bowlers on her team – Huron Daily Tribune

Cheer

Top-ranked Richmond has finished first or second in Division 3 five of the last six seasons, but won its first Regional title Saturday since 2013 – Port Huron Times Herald

Swimming & Diving

Ludington won its first Coastal Conference championship since 2008, finishing only 12 points ahead of runner-up Manistee – Ludington Daily News

Midland Dow won its 15th straight Saginaw Valley League title, edging Saginaw Heritage by 32 points; both are honorable mentions in the Lower Peninsula Division 2 rankings – Midland Daily News

Wyandotte Roosevelt won the Downriver League meet to claim the overall league title ahead of Allen Park, and LPD2 honorable mention – Southgate News Herald

Wrestling

Detroit Catholic Central won a matchup of the top seeds in Division 1, downing second seeded Davison – Second Half

Lowell became the fifth program in 30 years of Team Finals to win four straight, downing Warren Woods Tower in Division 2 – Second Half

Richmond got past rival Dundee on tie-breaker criteria to claim another Division 3 title – Second Half

After falling to New Lothrop in the Division 4 Final the last three seasons, Hudson won Saturday’s rematch and the championship – Second Half