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: 5/9/16
May 9, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This weekend was a major one for tournament events statewide as close finishes and falling records were seen on both sides of the bridge.
Baseball
Montague downed reigning Division 4 champion Muskegon Catholic Central 8-2 to win the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association’s Tier 2 championship – Muskegon Chronicle
From Thursday, Blissfield earned longtime coach Larry Tuttle his 1,200th win; he’s second on the MHSAA record list by just a handful of victories – Adrian Daily Telegram
Boys Golf
Grand Haven won its inaugural invitational at Grand Haven Golf Course with a 326, seven strokes ahead of Spring Lake – Grand Haven Tribune
Boys Lacrosse
Also from Thursday, Lake Orion, coming off records of 7-12 in 2014 and 5-14 in 2015, clinched the Oakland Activities Association Red championship with a double-overtime win over Bloomfield Hills – Oakland Press
Softball
Hudson’s Lauren Valdez struck out 18 batters in throwing a no-hitter against Petersburg-Summerfield – Adrian Daily Telegram
Girls Tennis
North Muskegon won five flights including all four doubles in claiming the title at the annual Greater Muskegon Athletic Association tournament – Muskegon Chronicle
Track & Field
The Utica Ford boys just edged Troy to win Sterling Heights’ Harold Arft Invitational, while Grosse Pointe South won the girls meet by nearly 15 points – Macomb Daily
The Sanford Meridian boys cleared Harrison by 5.5 points to win the 32nd Nite Trax Invitational, while Gaylord’s girls won by six over Remus Chippewa Hills – Midland Daily News
Petoskey’s Isabel Anderson should be a contender for an MHSAA Finals championship after besting her previous school record high jump of 5-foot-6 at the Ken Bell meet in Traverse City – Petoskey News
Harbor Springs’ Caylin Bonser broke her school’s discus record with a toss of 135-7 during Friday’s Lake City Invitational – Petoskey News
Pickford’s boys just got past Newberry 142-141 to win the St. Ignace Invitational, while the host Saints girls won their meet comfortably by 24.5 points – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News