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: 2/5/20

February 5, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Every basketball game is carrying more importance this season with the addition of limited seeding at the District level, and Tuesday saw a bunch that impacted rankings, standings or featured significant individual milestones.

1. Girls Basketball: Michigan Center avenged a December loss with a 65-55 win over Division 3 title contender Grass Lake – Jackson Citizen Patriot

2. Girls Basketball: Grosse Pointe South reshuffled the Macomb Area Conference Red standings, moving into first place with a 50-47 win over previous leader Macomb Dakota – Macomb Daily

3. Boys Basketball: Kalamazoo Central delivered Portage Central’s first loss this winter, 66-44 – FOX 17

4. Boys Swimming & Diving: Zeeland – an honorable mention in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – swam past LPD3 No. 6 Hamilton 103-83 – Holland Sentinel

5. Girls Basketball: Saginaw Heritage earned a 40-36 road win at Freeland – Midland Daily News

6. Boys Basketball: Ke’ontae Barnes’ buzzer beater helped Muskegon Orchard View deliver a second defeat to Fremont, 63-60 – Local Sports Journal

7. Boys Basketball: Undefeated Bridgeport ended Flint Southwestern’s 10-game winning streak, 60-56 – Flint Journal

8. Girls Basketball: Coldwater came back from a 14-point second-half deficit to get past Three Rivers 62-58 in overtime – Coldwater Daily Reporter

9. Hockey: Chelsea moved into a first-place tie in the Southeastern Conference White thanks to a 4-3 win over Saline – Chelsea Sun Times News

10. Boys Basketball: Carney-Nadeau earned an important 53-52 overtime win over Powers North Central – Escanaba Daily Press

Also of note …

Girls Basketball: Makenna Bryant qualified for the MHSAA record book with nine 3-pointers as Cadillac won big over Manistee – Cadillac News

Boys Basketball: Ishpeming held on for an 88-83 win over Houghton despite 63 points by Brad Simonsen – The Upbeat

Girls Basketball: Faith Guritz reached 1,000 career points in Martin’s 58-33 win over Delton Kellogg – Kalamazoo Gazette

Boys Basketball: Menalito McGee went over 1,000 career points in Wyoming’s 61-56 win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central – FOX 17

Boys Basketball: Gavin Fisher scored a school-record 39 points in Fruitport’s 67-56 win over Holton – Grand Haven Tribune