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: 11/11/20
November 11, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The MHSAA Volleyball Tournament took its next step Tuesday playing Regional Semifinals statewide, with a number of results making waves throughout the brackets.
1. Volleyball: No. 5 Beaverton swept No. 7 Traverse City St. Francis in a Division 3 Regional Semifinal – Midland Daily News
2. Volleyball: No. 2 Lake Odessa Lakewood lost a set – one of few this fall – before emerging with a four-set win over honorable mention Marshall in Division 2 – Lansing State Journal
3. Volleyball: Unranked Grandville Calvin Christian upset No. 4 North Muskegon to advance in Division 3 – Grand Rapids Press
4. Volleyball: Honorable mention Battle Creek St. Philip upset No. 7 New Buffalo 3-1 in a Division 4 Regional Semifinal – WWMT
5. Volleyball: Unranked Edwardsburg swept No. 8 Hamilton to advance in Division 2 – Niles Daily Star
6. Volleyball: Brooklyn Columbia Central continued its program-record run with a 3-1 Regional Semifinal win over Bath in Division 3 – Jackson Citizen-Patriot
7. Volleyball: Honorable mention Traverse City West came back after losing the first set to win the next three over Mount Pleasant – Up North Live
8. Volleyball: DeWitt came back from a late fifth-set deficit to edge Richland Gull Lake in Division 1 – Lansing State Journal
9. Volleyball: No. 6 Ann Arbor Skyline continued its undefeated run this fall with a Division 1 sweep of Trenton – We Love Ann Arbor
10. Volleyball: Grand Blanc will move on in Division 1 after avenging a 2019 Regional loss to Flushing – WJRT
Also of note …
Boys Soccer: Longtime coach Kirt Brown retired after 15 years apiece at Parchment and then Mattawan, having led the latter to the 2016 Division 2 championship – Kalamazoo Gazette
Cross Country/Track & Field: P.J. Pruett is retiring after leading dominant girls and boys programs at Ishpeming in both sports – Upper Michigan’s Source