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: 1/17/19

January 17, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Rematches of the top girls swimming & diving teams in the Upper Peninsula from last season and two of the Detroit Catholic League’s hockey powers highlighted Wednesday’s headliners across the state.

1. Girls Swimming & Diving: Reigning Upper Peninsula runner-up Marquette downed reigning champion Gladstone 118-51 – Escanaba Daily Press

2. Hockey: Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central defeated Division 2 No. 4 Birmingham Brother Rice 6-1 in Detroit Catholic League Central play – Oakland Press

3. Wrestling: Division 4 No. 9 Bronson downed Jonesville and Quincy to keep a strong hold on first in the Big 8 Conference – Coldwater Daily Reporter

4. Boys Basketball: Wayland edged East Grand Rapids 49-42 to remain undefeated in Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold play – FOX17

5. Boys Basketball: Alma came back from a three-point halftime deficit to get past Shepherd 53-44 and improve to 10-0 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

6. Hockey: Petoskey got off to a quick start against rival Gaylord on the way to a 6-3 win – Petoskey News-Review

7. Hockey: Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse held off St. Clair Shores Unified 6-4 – Macomb Daily

8. Wrestling: Traverse City West downed rival Traverse City Central 46-30 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

9. Boys Basketball: Bad Axe continued a recent surge, coming back from four down at halftime to defeat Vassar 52-46 – Huron Daily Tribune

10. Wrestling: Gladwin improved to 20-3 overall with its first league wins, over Houghton Lake and Sanford Meridian – Midland Daily News

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: From Tuesday, retired coach John Eggert stepped in for St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran and led the team to a 54-12 win over Covert, his 500th career victory – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium