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: 10/15/20

October 15, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A few more league races in volleyball and cross country came to an end Wednesday, while Boys Soccer Districts kicked off across the Lower Peninsula. 

1. Cross Country: Zeeland East’s girls claimed the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green title, its first in the sport, while Zeeland West won the boys championship – Holland Sentinel Girls/Boys 

2. Volleyball: Niles swept Buchanan to clinch the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference Red title – Niles Daily Star

3. Boys Soccer: Macomb Lutheran North advanced in Division 3 with a District shootout win over No. 3 (MPR) Richmond – Macomb Daily

4. Boys Soccer: Rochester Hills Stoney Creek edged Rochester in overtime in a Division 1 opener – Oakland Press

5. Boys Soccer: No. 13 (MPR) Maple City Glen Lake scored two second-half goals to get past Charlevoix 2-1 in a Division 4 District opener – Up North Live

6. Volleyball: Division 3 No. 10 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian finished a win over Whitehall with a 31-29 fourth-set victory to advance in the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association Tournament – Local Sports Journal

7. Boys Soccer: Hemlock opened its Division 3 District with a win over Saginaw Swan Valley – Saginaw News

8. Boys Soccer: Marcellus Howardsville Christian remained undefeated with a Division 4 District win over Lawton – WWMT

9. Volleyball: Division 2 No. 3 Cadillac improved to 30-5 with a sweep of Traverse City Central – Cadillac News

10. Boys Soccer: Essexville Garber built on its recent success with a Division 3 District win over Unionville-Sebewaing – Bay City Times

Also of note …

Volleyball: From Tuesday, Division 4 top-ranked Mendon swept Centreville to clinch the Southwest 10 Conference title – Sturgis Journal

Cross Country: From Tuesday, the Morenci girls and Erie Mason boys won Tri-County Conference finals – Adrian Daily Telegram

Cross Country: From Tuesday, Benzie Central swept the Northwest Conference championships; the boys are ranked No. 10 in LPD3 and the girls are No. 4  Benzie County Record Patriot

Boys Soccer: From Monday, Livonia Stevenson downed Division 1 No. 14 (MPR) Salem to claim the overall Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship – Observer & Eccentric

Cross Country: From Monday, Sault Ste. Marie finished championship runs in the Straits Area Conference; the boys are an honorable mention in UPD1 and the girls are No. 3 – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News