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: 9/15/16

September 15, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The spikes fell, and so did some favorites on the volleyball court Wednesday, with a Detroit Catholic League rivalry match the headliner of the day’s statewide action.

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

The Ubly girls continued to dominate local competition, winning their home invitational by 21 points; Cass City won the boys race by just two ahead of Bad Axe – Huron Daily Tribune

Girls Golf

South Lyon East broke a school record shooting 332 to win the Oakland County Division II championship – Oakland Press

Boys Soccer

Division 4 No. 5 Leland needed a 5-4 advantage in a shootout to edge Buckley 1-0 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Mohamed Said scored four goals to push Melvindale past Gibraltar Carlson 4-3 in a key Downriver League matchup – Southgate News-Herald

Volleyball

Class A honorable mention Bloomfield Hills Marian upset No. 4 Farmington Hills Mercy in four sets – Oakland Press

Pittsford, ranked No. 5 in Class D featuring key players from the MHSAA champion basketball team, swept Waldron – Hillsdale Daily News

Traverse City West handed Petoskey the latter’s first loss this season, in five sets – Petoskey News

Good Read

Marshall’s Corey Dexter and his family, including two younger brothers, are facing their first football season without dad Chad, who died after a bout with cancer earlier this year – Battle Creek Enquirer