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: 9/20/19
September 20, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Two of the first league championships of the 2019-20 school year were decided Thursday on the tennis courts and soccer pitch, while a number of other contests surely will have title implications later on.
1. Boys Tennis: St. Clair – No. 5 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – downed Port Huron Northern to guarantee a shared Macomb Area Conference Red title with LPD1 No 9 Grosse Pointe South – Port Huron Times-Herald
2. Boys Soccer: South Lyon clinched the Lakes Valley Conference championship with a draw against second-place Walled Lake Western – Oakland Press
3. Volleyball: Traverse City St. Francis emerged with a 15-11 fifth-set win to get past Division 4 No. 6 Leland – Up North Live
4. Volleyball: Division 1 No. 9 Grand Haven picked up a key Ottawa-Kent Conference Red win over honorable mention Grandville – FOX 17
5. Girls Golf: Durand set a program record with its 12th match win, this one by 10 strokes over Owosso – Owosso Argus-Press
6. Cross Country: Rock Mid Peninsula’s Daisy Englund earned her third straight win, this time at the Stephenson Invitational as Marquette’s Upper Peninsula Division 1 top-ranked teams swept – Escanaba Daily Press
7. Girls Golf: Traverse City West won the Harbor Springs Invitational, led by Anci Dy’s medalist performance – Traverse City Record-Eagle
8. Volleyball: Division 1 No. 10 Clarkston started Oakland Activities Association Red play by avenging an earlier loss to honorable mention Oxford – Oakland Press
9. Volleyball: Division 4 top-ranked Southfield Christian swept honorable mention Plymouth Christian Academy to move to 8-1-1 – Oakland Press
10. Boys Soccer: Unranked Ann Arbor Pioneer and Division 1 No. 8 Skyline played to a scoreless draw – We Love Ann Arbor