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: 9/25/19

September 25, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A Detroit suburban matchup of statewide importance on the volleyball court and another league title clinched in boys soccer top a Wednesday list also filled with upsets plus a few stories of special interest.

1. Volleyball: Division 1 top-ranked Farmington Hills Mercy handed No. 4 Bloomfield Hills Marian its first defeat, moving to 27-1 with the sweep – State Champs Sports Network

2. Boys Soccer: Division 4 No. 4 North Muskegon shut out Whitehall 4-0 to finish a perfect title run through West Michigan Conference play – Local Sports Journal

3. Boys Soccer: Saline remained unbeaten in Southeastern Conference Red play with a 2-1 win over Division 1 No. 7 Ann Arbor Skyline – Saline Post

4. Boys Soccer: Holland West Ottawa earned a 3-1 upset over Division 1 No. 10 Caledonia – Holland Sentinel

5. Volleyball: Dexter swept second-place Tecumseh to remain in first in the SEC White – Chelsea Sun Times News

6. Boys Soccer: Traverse City Central also earned an upset, downing Division 2 No. 15 Gaylord 2-0 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

7. Cross Country: The Munising Invitational featured mostly familiar winners plus a new one – Marquette’s Upper Peninsula Division 1 top-ranked teams swept, Negaunee’s Emily Paupore won her fourth straight invitational and Gladstone sophomore Giovanni Mathews won his first – Escanaba Daily Press

8. Cross Country: Dexter’s LPD1 No. 3 boys and Tecumseh’s LPD2 No. 14 girls finished first ahead of loaded fields at the latest SEC White jamboree – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

9. Boys Soccer: Dearborn Divine Child shut out Division 3 No. 9 Macomb Lutheran North 4-0 – Macomb Daily

10. Boys Soccer: First-year program Watervliet improved to 6-4-1 with a win over Buchanan – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium