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: 10/26/15
October 26, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
There was much more than football playoff pairings to discuss this weekend – most notably, MHSAA Boys Soccer Districts and the Upper Peninsula Cross Country Finals.
Cross Country
All three Upper Peninsula girls team champions repeated, and Marquette standout senior Lindsey Rudden capped her career with a first individual title – Second Half
Two Upper Peninsula boys team champions repeated, but Negaunee stole the show with its first title since 1983 – Second Half
Boys Soccer
Tecumseh won its first District title since 2010 with a Division 2 shootout victory over Milan, improving to 10-1-3 over its last 14 games – Adrian Daily Telegram
Reigning Division 2 Final champion East Lansing, ranked No. 5, won its fourth straight District title, this time 3-2 over Haslett – Lansing State Journal
Eighth-ranked Mason finished a shutout of its Division 2 District, downing Chelsea 3-0 to win its three games by a combined 13-0 – Lansing State Journal
Gladwin, No. 10 in Division 3, won its first District title with a 1-0 victory over West Branch Ogemaw Heights – Midland Daily News
Grand Haven, No. 19 in Division 1, won its fifth straight District title with a 1-0 victory over Grandville – Grand Haven Tribune
Bloomfield Hills scored its only goal on a penalty kick in downing Birmingham Seaholm in Division 1 for its third straight District title – Oakland Press
Volleyball
Buchanan, an honorable mention in Class B, won the St. Joseph Invitational with a three-set victory over Class A honorable mention Niles in the final – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium