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: 9/25/15
September 25, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Here’s some great Friday morning reading, including a look at some of the special impacts made on the football field from a coach fighting to stay on the sideline and two more recently retired from it.
Girls Golf
Frankenmuth saw all of its scoring records fall this week, for 18-hole team, 18-hole individual, 9-hole team and 9-hole individual – Saginaw News
Boys Soccer
Portage Central rebounded off its first loss of the season earlier this week to beat Division 2 No. 19 Stevensville Lakeshore 1-0 – Kalamazoo Gazette
Volleyball
Class A No. 4 Grand Haven downed No. 10 Rockford 3-1, gaining an edge in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red standings – Muskegon Chronicle
Class D No. 10 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart lost the first set against annual power Beal City but came back to win the next three – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Good Reads
Gibraltar Carlson’s Zach Kohn stars in three sports, managing his time to train for them all, and locked down a Division I scholarship for baseball – Monroe Evening News
Battle Creek Harper Creek’s Ed Greenman and Battle Creek Pennfield’s Nick Koenigsknecht stepped away from the football sideline this season after a combined 44 years. They share some of their thoughts from the other side of the field – Battle Creek Enquirer
Tonight’s Richmond/Almont football game will be “Kocher Strong Night” in honor of Richmond co-coach John Kocher, who continues his fight against cancer – Port Huron Times-Herald