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: 9/4/15
September 4, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The combination of early football and thunderous storms made for a light schedule of other sports Thursday. But here are some of the notable headlines we unearthed – and remember to check back Monday for a full recap of football's Week 2.
Cross Country
The Croswell-Lexington girls won their second invitational, this time at Port Huron and led again by now two-time individual champ Rachel Bonner, while the boys team also was victorious – Port Huron Times-Herald
The Rochester Adams girls and boys teams swept the Cicciarelli Invitational – but the jewel of this report is the story of how Brighton runner Chip Osborne quit his race while running third to assist another runner who had collapsed because of dehydration – Oakland Press
Boys Soccer
From Wednesday, Midland Bullock Creek ended a two-year winless streak by beating Pinconning 2-0 – Midland Daily News
Boys Tennis
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central is the reigning Lower Peninsula Division 2 champion and Portage Central tied for third last season, but Portage Central won their match 6-2 on Thursday – Grand Rapids Press
Good Read
A pair of Livingston County communities are mourning the death of longtime coach Lee Smith, who died Thursday at 80 but coached at Hartland and then Brighton until he was 76 – Livingston Daily