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: 1/31/20

January 31, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A trio of girls basketball headliners lead off our list of Thursday’s high achievers across the state, which also included coverage from boys basketball, boys swimming & diving and hockey.

1. Girls Basketball: Detroit Cass Tech handed the first loss this season to Detroit Martin Luther King 68-43, clinching the Detroit Public School League East championship with the win – Detroit News

2. Girls Basketball: Camden-Frontier handed Pittsford its first loss of the season, 54-34 – Hillsdale Daily News

3. Girls Basketball: Pinconning’s Lauren Laures set program records for points in a game and career during a 74-40 win over Farwell – Bay City Times

4. Boys Basketball: Joe Liedel scored a school-record 54 points to lead Erie Mason past Onsted 70-67 in double overtime – Monroe News

5. Boys Swimming & Diving: No. 4 Holland West Ottawa won a matchup of Lower Peninsula Division 1 foes, 186-116 over Rockford – Holland Sentinel

6. Boys Basketball: Andre Floyd’s basket during the closing seconds pushed Southfield Arts & Technology past Farmington 66-65 – C&G Newspapers

7. Boys Basketball: Thanks also to Erie Mason’s win, Blissfield moved into a three-way tie for first in the Lenawee County Athletic Association with a 76-52 victory over Ida – Adrian Daily Telegram

8. Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD2 honorable mention Gibraltar Carlson celebrated nine event winners on the way to defeating Allen Park 111-74 – Southgate News-Herald

9. Hockey: Ben Hepp scored four goals, including two short-handed, to key Oxford/Avondale’s win over Bishop Foley United – Oakland Press

10. Boys Basketball: Ravenna moved to 11-0 with a 60-42 win over Montague – Local Sports Journal

Also of note …

Wrestling: The second Michigan Wrestling Association Girls State Championships will be wrestled Sunday, with nearly double the field of the first year’s event – Adrian Daily Telegram

Boys Basketball: From Wednesday, Chase Ingersoll scored 31 points and broke the school’s career scoring record during Fife Lake Forest Area’s 79-67 win over Buckley – MI Sports Now

Boys Basketball: Bullock Creek’s Brant O’Keefe will be recognized Saturday for saving his father’s life with CPR this past fall – Saginaw News