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: 2/10/16
February 10, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Teams are turning their attention toward the season’s most important competitions, with league titles being awarded and milestones attained and the postseason beginning this week in one sport with the rest to soon follow.
Girls Basketball
Caledonia improved to 14-2 by handing Grand Rapids South Christian its first loss, 33-31 – Grand Rapids Press
Howell earned a share of its first league championship since 2009-10, downing Hartland 46-35 to set up a chance to win the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West title outright Friday against Brighton – Livingston Daily
Manistee won its seventh straight game, this time downing Big North Conference contender Traverse City Central 45-38 – Manistee News Advocate
Gaylord St. Mary came back from deficits twice to down Bellaire, 38-34 – Gaylord Herald Times
Muskegon Oakridge’s Hannah Reinhold cleared 1,000 career points in her team’s title-clinching win over Shelby – Muskegon Chronicle
From Monday, New Boston Huron outscored Flat Rock 10-0 in the fourth quarter to win 41-34 and end Flat Rock’s Huron League winning streak of 57 games dating to 2012 – Monroe Evening News
Boys Basketball
Anthony Morgan’s fifth 3-pointer against Marysville came with nine seconds left in overtime and gave St. Clair Shores South Lake a 62-61 win – Macomb Daily
Class C Southfield Christian handed Class A Ann Arbor Pioneer its second straight loss, 56-49 – Ann Arbor News
Edwardsburg’s Dante Razzano scored his 1,000th career point in a 69-38 win over Plainwell – Kalamazoo Gazette
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s C.J. Wilson followed Detroit Catholic Central’s Tyler Laurentius’ closing-seconds layup with a winning free throw in a 51-50 Eaglets win – Oakland Press
Saugatuck’s Blake Dunn dropped 42 points on 18 field goals on Eau Claire in a 70-62 win – Holland Sentinel
Canton trailed Livonia Churchill by nine points with two minutes left in regulation, but came back to win in double overtime to remain undefeated – Detroit News
From Monday, Litchfield scored a school record number of points and tied another record with nine 3-pointers in a 107-83 win over Battle Creek Calhoun Christian – Hillsdale Daily News
Boys Swimming & Diving
Lower Peninsula Division 2 No. 6 Midland Dow won the final event against No. 3 Birmingham Groves to also win their meet, 94-92 – Midland Daily News
For the second straight season, New Baltimore Anchor Bay and Marysville met in the final meet of the Macomb Area Conference Blue season – and for the second straight season, Anchor Bay won to claim the league title – Port Huron Times Herald