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: 2/12/20

February 12, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Tuesday saw a mix of personal milestones with record book implications and massive hoops matchups that continued to shift league standings with only a few weeks remaining in this regular season.

1. Boys Basketball: Wyoming’s Menalito McGee and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern’s Ethan Erickson earned spots in the MHSAA record book for single-game 3-pointers in their teams’ Tuesday victories – Grand Rapids Press

2. Boys Basketball: Erie Mason’s Joe Liedel scored 37 points in a 63-38 win over Brooklyn Columbia Central to set the Monroe County Region career scoring record at 1,951 – Monroe News

3. Girls Basketball: Saginaw Heritage shook up the Saginaw Valley League standings with a 56-39 win over formerly first-place Midland – Midland Daily News

4. Boys Swimming & Diving: Collin Che set Midland Dow school and pool records in the 100-yard butterfly in his team’s 138-42 win over Midland; Dow is ranked No. 3 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – Midland Daily News

5. Boys Basketball: Detroit Douglass advanced to the Detroit Public School League Tournament final with a 76-46 win over Detroit Martin Luther King – Detroit News

6. Girls Basketball: Williamston earned a major win on a buzzer beater, 37-35 over DeWitt – Lansing State Journal

7. Girls Basketball: Trenton moved into first place alone in the Downriver League with a 44-37 overtime win over Lincoln Park – Southgate News-Herald

8. Boys Basketball: Hopkins moved into first place alone in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Silver with a 66-60 win over Grandville Calvin Christian – FOX 17

9. Girls Basketball: Walled Lake Western held on to first place alone in the Lakes Valley Conference with a 44-37 win over Waterford Mott – State Champs Sports Network

10. Boys Basketball: A last-second put-back gave Posen a 47-46 win over previously one-loss Hale – Alpena News

Also of note …

Girls Basketball: Freeland’s Kadyn Blanchard went over 1,000 career points in her team’s 56-32 win over Alma – Saginaw News

Boys Basketball: Fowlerville junior Brendan Young went over 1,000 career points with 33 (plus 20 rebounds) in a 74-62 win over Lansing Sexton – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Boys Basketball: Brendan Busch scored 56 points in Hillsdale Will Carleton’s 73-19 win over Jackson Prep, giving his team 56-point games by two players over a week – Hillsdale Daily News

Softball: After seven seasons away, Adrian Lenawee Christian will bring back the sport this spring – Adrian Daily Telegram

Bowling: From Saturday, the Howard City Tri County girls team locked up its first Central State Activities Association title – Greenville Daily News