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: 10/17/16

October 17, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A busy championship weekend ended with two first-time MHSAA Finals golf winners, the end to a near-decade run in tennis, favorites winning in cross country and surprises claiming titles in volleyball.

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.

Cross Country

Corunna’s boys followed standout Noah Jacobs to a Greater Lansing Invitational repeat championship, while Lansing Catholic claimed the girls title paced by a dominant run by Olivia Theis – Lansing State Journal (Boys/Girls)

The Grosse Ile boys and Wyandotte Roosevelt girls won Southgate News-Herald championships – Southgate News-Herald (Boys/Girls)

The Macomb Dakota boys won their third straight Macomb County title, and Romeo won the girls title while Macomb L’Anse Creuse North’s Karenna Duffey won the individual girls championship for the third time – Macomb Daily (Boys/Girls)

The Blissfield girls and Tecumseh boys won Lenawee County cross country championships – Adrian Daily Telegram

The Sturgis girls and Detroit Catholic Central boys won the Division 1-2 race at the 52nd Kiwanis Invitational in Sturgis, while Bronson’s boys and Quincy’s girls won the Division 3-4 race – Sturgis Journal/Coldwater Daily Reporter

Girls Golf

Rochester, Midland Dow, Spring Lake and Macomb Lutheran North won MHSAA Lower Peninsula championships Saturday, Dow and Lutheran North for the first time and Spring Lake for the third straight season – Second Half

Boys Tennis

Ann Arbor Huron, Midland Dow, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett won Lower Peninsula championships as well, with Liggett ending Ann Arbor Greenhills’ eight-year run in Division 4 – Second Half

Volleyball

Unranked Muskegon Mona Shores swept Class B No. 8 Fruitport to win the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association championship – Muskegon Chronicle

Unranked Battle Creek Lakeview downed Class B No. 6 Harper Creek in three sets to win its first All-City championship since 2007 – Battle Creek Enquirer

Calumet downed host Houghton to win the Gremlins’ invitational – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Class A honorable mention Niles won its sixth straight tournament, downing Comstock, Galesburg-Augusta, Decatur, Kalamazoo Hackett and host Loy Norrix in the final – Niles Daily Star

Class D No. 10 Pittsford swept No. 5 North Adams-Jerome to win the Jonesville “Think Pink” Tournament – Hillsdale Daily News

Adrian Madison downed Adrian in the final to claim the Lenawee County Tournament title – Adrian Daily Telegram