Today in the MHSAA: 8/24/20
August 24, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Cross country statewide and volleyball, boys soccer and girls swimming & diving in northern Michigan were able to kick off competition over the weekend, bringing a fresh slate of storylines to the return of high school athletics in this state.
1. Cross Country: Bay City Western ran its first dual meets in 21 years, with the boys defeating Freeland and the Freeland girls winning by two in a matchup of possible Finals contenders – Bay City Times
2. Girls Golf: Rockford edged St. Joseph by 11 strokes to win the Sydney Carfine Invitational at The Meadows – Local Sports Journal
3. Boys Tennis: South Lyon freshman Cameron Crosby dominated No. 1 singles in highlighting the season-opening Pinckney quad – Livingston Daily
4. Volleyball: Grand Haven opened with a strong showing at Cadillac, defeating the host Vikings, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern and Coopersville – Grand Haven Tribune
5. Boys Tennis: Big Rapids won back-to-back quads at Ludington and Wyoming – Big Rapids News
6. Volleyball: Petoskey edged Alpena 25-23, 25-19 to win the Sault Ste. Marie Invitational – Alpena News
7. Cross Country: Adrian Lenawee Christian swept championships at the Addison Early Bird Invitational – JTV
8. Girls Tennis: Ishpeming Westwood and Iron Mountain swept their tri-meets as the annual Kingsford Invitational was split into two round-robins to account for COVID-19 restrictions – Iron Mountain Daily News
9. Girls Golf: Parma Western shot a 380 to win its invitational by nine strokes – JTV
10. Boys Soccer: Traverse City Central outscored Manistee and Boyne City by a combined 11-0 during Saturday play – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Also of note …
Football: From last week, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and Muskegon Catholic Central are mourning the death of Cranbrook varsity coach Ben Jones, who died in a car crash; he formerly starred at MCC – Detroit News
Boys Basketball: Clinton Township Chippewa Valley coach Kevin Voss has retired after 38 years coaching basketball – Macomb Daily
Today in the MHSAA: 12/9/19
December 9, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Matchups of a number of the state’s anticipated girls basketball best topped a weekend list full of high achievers with hockey, bowling and swimming & diving also contributing to the headliners.
1. Girls Basketball: Reigning Division 3 champion Pewamo-Westphalia downed last season’s Division 1 runner-up Southfield Arts & Technology 43-31 at the Arbor Prep Ice Breaker Challenge – State Champs Sports Network
2. Girls Basketball: Hart earned its first win since 2004 over eight-time reigning West Michigan Conference champion Muskegon Oakridge, 56-34 – Local Sports Journal
3. Girls Basketball: Hartland handed a 61-40 loss to two-time reigning Division 4/Class D champion Adrian Lenawee Christian at Arbor Prep – Adrian Daily Telegram
4. Hockey: Traverse City Central took wins of 4-3 over Division 3 No. 8 Houghton and 7-2 over No. 9 Hancock during a weekend trip – Traverse City Record-Eagle
5. Bowling: Cadillac’s boys and Traverse City West’s girls repeated as Big North Conference champions – Cadillac News
6. Boys Swimming & Diving: Grand Rapids Christian, No. 3 in Lower Peninsula Division 3, earned a 108-78 win over No. 6 Hamilton – Holland Sentinel
7. Hockey: Gaylord bounced back from a loss to Traverse City West with a 3-1 road win at Division 1 No. 7 Midland – Gaylord Herald Times
8. Girls Basketball: Midland Dow got past Maple City Glen Lake 45-43 in a game that was tied at the end of each of the first three quarters – Midland Daily News
9. Girls Basketball: East Grand Rapids got past host Kalamazoo Central 66-57 at the Lady Giant West Side Showcase – JoeInsider.com
10. Hockey: Grosse Pointe South scored five first-period goals in a 7-2 win over Traverse Bay Reps – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Also of note …
Girls Basketball: Jasmine Clerkley went over 1,000 career points as Okemos got past Haslett 58-51 – Lansing State Journal
Girls Basketball: Muskegon Reeths-Puffer’s Lauren Ross scored her 1,000th career point during a 49-40 win over Greenville – Muskegon Chronicle
Girls Tennis: Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central is mourning the death of retired coach Wayne Asher, who led the girls team to two Division 4 Finals runner-up finishes over 14 seasons – Monroe News
Softball: Longtime Spring Lake coach Bill Core has stepped down with a 642-473 record since taking over the program in 1990 – Grand Haven Tribune