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: 10/9/20

October 9, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The boys soccer regular-season rushed toward its conclusion Thursday with a league championship game and two more intriguing semifinals making our headliner list.

1. Boys Soccer: Walled Lake Western edged Walled Lake Central in overtime to claim the Lakes Valley Conference Tournament title – The Spinal Column

2. Boys Tennis: No. 6 Troy defeated No. 14 Rochester Adams to earn a Lower Peninsula Division 1 District championship – Oakland Press

3. Boys Soccer: Muskegon Mona Shores came back from a two-goal deficit to defeat Division 2 No. 6 (MPR) Wyoming 4-3 in an Ottawa-Kent Conference Green semifinal – Local Sports Journal

4. Boys Soccer: Division 2 No. 12 (MPR) Richland Gull Lake advanced to the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference championship game with a 3-0 win over No. 15 St. Joseph – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

5. Girls Golf: LPD4 No. 9 Harbor Springs clinched another Lake Michigan Conference championship – Petoskey News-Review

6. Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD1 top-ranked Ann Arbor Pioneer outraced No. 10 Ann Arbor Huron 123-63 – We Love Ann Arbor 

7. Boys Soccer: Division 3 No. 4 (MPR) Elk Rapids downed Boyne City 3-0 to finish the Lake Michigan Conference scheduled unbeaten – MI Sports Now

8. Volleyball: Saugatuck downed Holland to remain undefeated this fall – Holland Sentinel

9. Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD2 No. 10 Fenton put up multiple pool records in a win over Swartz Creek – WJRT

10. Boys Soccer: Essexville Garber came back from a one-goal deficit to defeat Bay City Central 3-1 – Bay City Times

Also of note …

Girls Golf: From Wednesday, Sturgis locked up its fifth Wolverine Conference title in six seasons – Sturgis Journal

Boys Soccer: From Wednesday, Division 1 No. 10 (MPR) Brownstown Woodhaven claimed a third-straight Downriver League title with a win over Gibraltar Carlson – Southgate News-Herald

Boys Soccer: From Wednesday, Sterling Heights downed St. Clair Shores Lakeview to clinch a share of the Macomb Area Conference Blue title – Macomb Daily