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: 12/10/18

December 10, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

This weekend was filled with record-setting scoring on the basketball court, milestone points and titanic early-season victories as some of the state’s best met in hoops, wrestling and hockey.

1. Wrestling: No. 3 Brighton downed No. 2 Davison 34-23 in a matchup of top teams in Division 1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

2. Girls Basketball: Reigning Class A champion Saginaw Heritage held on for a 45-43 win over Southfield Arts & Technology at the Arbor Prep Invitational – Saginaw News

3. Girls Basketball: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart won big over Coleman as Scout Nelson scored her 1,000th career point – MI Sports Now

4. Wrestling: Division 2 No. 9 Tecumseh downed No. 10 New Boston Huron in the final to win the Brooklyn Columbia Central Team Tournament title – Adrian Daily Telegram

5. Hockey: Division 1 No. 4 Salem followed its Thursday win over Division 2 No. 7 Howell with a 4-0 victory over Division 3 No. 11 Livonia Churchill – Observer & Eccentric

6. Girls Basketball: Comstock’s Daisy Ansel broke her school’s 27-year-old scoring record with 45 points in a big win over Buchanan – Kalamazoo Gazette

7. Bowling: Quincy’s boys entered bracket play as the eighth seed and downed the first on the way to winning the Cascades Clash Baker Tournament – Coldwater Daily Reporter

8. Girls Basketball: Taylor Folkema tied her school’s record with 39 points in Muskegon Western Michigan Christian’s big win over Muskegon Catholic Central – Local Sports Journal

9. Wrestling: Seven individual champions led Petoskey to the team title at the Owosso Invitational – Petoskey News-Review

10. Wrestling: Ishpeming Westwood won its Super Duals finishing 5-0 on the day – Marquette Mining Journal

Also of note …

Cross Country: Longtime Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart coach Mark Zitzelsberger announced his retirement; he led the Irish to six MHSAA titles including the girls team to the last four in Lower Peninsula Division 4 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Wrestling: Lake City earned its first invitational team title as a program, claiming first at Manton – Cadillac News

Girls Basketball: Shepherd edged Birch Run 41-40, but Panthers junior Sarah Miller reached 1,000 points for her career – Saginaw News

Boys Basketball: From Tuesday, Bryce Hallman scored a school-record 44 points as Howard City Tri-County won its first game in nearly two calendar years, over White Cloud – Greenville Daily News