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: 10/6/16
October 6, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Girls Golf Regionals teed off Wednesday with a record performance by arguably the state’s top team, and check out also the detailed coverage of this week’s MHSAA Update Meeting stop in Frankenmuth.
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.
Girls Golf
Top-ranked Rochester shot an incredible 289 to win its Lower Peninsula Division 1 Regional, dropping an already-impressive school record by seven more strokes – Oakland Press
Two-time reigning LP Division 3 champion and No. 4-ranked Spring Lake began its three-peat attempt with a Regional victory of 56 strokes – Muskegon Chronicle
Second-year program Shepherd reached the Division 4 Finals for the first time finishing third to Freeland and No. 3 Frankenmuth at their Regional – Saginaw News
No. 5 Brighton didn’t surprise by shooting a 314 to win its Division 1 Regional, but Hartland finished third to make the Finals for the first time – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Boys Tennis
Byron Center claimed what is believed to be its first league championship in the sport, edging Zeeland East by six points at the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green tournament – Grand Rapids Press
Volleyball
Class B honorable mention Saginaw Swan Valley moved into first place alone in the Tri-Valley Conference Central with a sweep of former co-leader Freeland – Saginaw News
Neighbors Marine City (a 3-0 winner) and Class D No. 9 Marine City Cardinal Mooney played Wednesday in a “Purple Out” for pancreatic cancer research and awareness, a cause close to the Mooney program as coach Dennis Caufield’s wife Pat died after fighting the disease two years ago – Port Huron Times Herald
Good Read
The annual MHSAA Update Meeting series visited Frankenmuth this week, and MLive reported well why multi-sport participation and reaching student-athletes during their middle school/junior high years has never been more important – Saginaw News