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: 3/9/21

March 9, 2021

Title time continued on the basketball court Monday where at least three teams clinched conference championships to top our list of headliners.

1. Boys Basketball: Romulus Summit Academy handed Detroit Edison its first loss, 49-46, to clinch the Charter School Conference championship – Detroit News

2. Girls Basketball: Brooklyn Columbia Central clinched the Lenawee County Athletic Association title with a 33-30 win over Onsted – Jackson Citizen Patriot

3. Boys Basketball: Otsego claimed a fourth-straight Wolverine Conference title with a 61-36 win over Allegan – Kalamazoo Gazette

4. Boys Basketball: Ke’ontae Barnes became Muskegon Orchard View’s all-time leading scorer during an 86-42 win over Kent City – Local Sports Journal

5. Girls Basketball: Harper Woods Chandler Park won a matchup of title contenders, 79-78 – MLive-Detroit

6. Boys Basketball: Orchard Lake St. Mary’s downed Ferndale 81-40 as Will Smythe drained 12 3-pointers – Oakland Press

7. Hockey: Division 2 No. 9 Traverse City Central downed Division 1 No. 8 West for the second time in four days, this time 7-1 – Up North Live

8. Girls Basketball: Freeland downed Alma 38-25, but the Panthers’ Alyssa Leister went over 1,000 career points – Saginaw News

9. Girls Basketball: Sarah Marvin posted a triple-double to lead Byron past Linden 71-37 – Owosso Argus-Press

10. Boys Basketball: Reese downed Bad Axe 82-80 in overtime to maintain first place in the Greater Thumb Conference West – Huron Daily Tribune

Also of note …

Wrestling: Montabella’s Shaun Balhorn went over 500 career wins, becoming the 31st coach in his sport to do so – Greenville Daily News