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: 10/28/19

October 28, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The Finals field for Lower Peninsula cross country and Semifinals field for boys soccer are set after a weekend filled with history-making performances and led off by a pair of big-time upsets.

1. Boys Soccer: Unranked Traverse City West downed No. 1 Okemos 1-0 in a Division 1 Regional Final – Traverse City Record-Eagle

2. Cross Country: Hudson’s No. 12-ranked girls outpaced No. 5 Adrian Lenawee Christian and No. 2 Hillsdale Academy for a Lower Peninsula Division 4 Regional title; No. 7 Concord won the boys race – Adrian Daily Telegram

3. Cross Country: Leland’s girls edged Frankfort’s by a point to win their first Regional championship, in LPD4 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

4. Boys Soccer: No. 3 Novi reversed recent history against No. 7 Detroit Catholic Central with a 2-1 Regional Final win in Division 1 – Observer & Eccentric

5. Cross Country: The top-ranked Petoskey girls and Fremont boys approached perfect scores in winning their LPD2 Regionals – Petoskey News-Review

6. Boys Soccer: No. 5 Dansville took No. 7 Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep to a shootout and emerged as the 1-0 winner in a Division 4 Regional Final – JoeInsider.com

7. Cross Country: Hart swept LPD3 Regional titles for the third straight season; the girls are ranked No. 1 and the boys No. 8 – Ludington Daily News

8. Cross Country: Ann Arbor Pioneer swept LPD1 Regional titles, with Saline finishing second in both races. Pioneer’s girls are ranked No. 1 and its boys are No. 6, while Saline’s teams are No. 4 and No. 5, respectively – We Love Ann Arbor Girls | Boys

9. Boys Soccer: Unranked Ludington won its third straight Regional title, downing No. 15 Elk Rapids 1-0 in Division 3 – Ludington Daily News

10. Cross Country: The top-ranked Breckenridge boys won their first Regional title since 2011, in LPD4 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Also of note …

Volleyball: Oscoda and Hale won their division championships in the North Star League – WBKB

Volleyball: Sault Ste. Marie won the Straits Area Conference tournament – MI Sports Now

Volleyball: Division 3 honorable mention Traverse City St. Francis secured its eighth straight Lake Michigan Conference title – Traverse City Record-Eagle