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: 12/9/15
December 9, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Falling school records and a perfect bowling game highlight today's headlines covering a variety of sports across the state.
Girls Basketball
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart senior center Averi Gamble scored a school-record 40 points, breaking the previous mark of 34 set in 1980, in the Irish’s 67-23 win over Beal City – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Despite 25 points by South Lyon East’s Peyton Jones, Saline hung on for a 47-42 win after leading by only one point with 20 seconds to play – Ann Arbor News
Boys Basketball
Spencer Littleson scored 42 points in arguably the night’s most exciting opener, sinking 18 of 20 free-throw attempts as Rochester Adams outlasted Auburn Hills Avondale 77-69 in overtime – Oakland Press
East Jordan’s Jordan Weber broke his school’s career scoring record of 1,170 points, set in 1986, by upping his total to 1,193 with 24 in a 66-20 win over Mancelona – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Midland trailed Bay City Western by 19 with 11 minutes to play, but knocked down five 3-pointers to climb back for a 53-43 win – Midland Daily News
Battle Creek Central won its first game under new coach Durant Crum in dramatic fashion, on a putback with five seconds to play to beat Jackson 59-58 – Battle Creek Enquirer
Boys Bowling
Wayland senior Cameron Heintzelman rolled his first 300 in a match Monday against Zeeland East, topping his previous high of 289 – Grand Rapids Press
Girls Swimming & Diving
Girls and boys swimming and diving seasons are both in the winter in the Upper Peninsula, and Kingsford’s Peyton Johnson broker her own school record in the 200 individual medley to highlight performances in the Flivvers’ meet with Marquette – Iron Mountain Daily News