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: 5/2/16
May 2, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Included as always is a sampling of coverage of this weekend’s most notable statewide events, but make sure to check out the “Good Reads” section at the bottom of this report for stories definitely worth your time today.
Boys Golf
Reigning Division 1 champion Detroit Catholic Central won the Traverse City Central Tee-Off with a two-day 288 – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Softball
Division 1 No. 2 Farmington Hills Mercy, a semifinalist last season, swept reigning champion Warren Regina in the Detroit Catholic League – Oakland Press
Petoskey won the Traverse City St. Francis Invitational, including handing a first loss this season to Kalkaska – Petoskey News
Track & Field
Sturgis’ boys won the Don Lukens Invitational, with Johnathon Sholl setting a school record in the 100 meters – Sturgis Journal
Marquette’s boys and girls dominated the Manistique Invitational – Escanaba Daily News
Football
Dan Rohn, who coached Grand Rapids West Catholic to four Division 5 championships over the last nine seasons, resigned – Grand Rapids Press
Good Reads
Muskegon Mona Shores’ freshman Raegan Cox is one of the Midwest’s top soccer players her age – and she’s contributing not only to her school’s soccer team this spring, but also its track & field team – Muskegon Chronicle
A number of sources nationwide, including MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts, weighed in on why we must counteract sports specialization in this story that was published by the New York Times among papers all over the country – The Associated Press
Incredibly, Mason Evans is playing golf – and playing well – for Battle Creek Lakeview using one arm after breaking the other during wrestling season – Battle Creek Enquirer
As Birmingham Seaholm’s Jordan Michalak finishes her term as a member of the MHSAA Student Advisory Council, she tells of her experiences as a contributor and how her tenure has affected her perspective on athletics – Birmingham Observer & Eccentric