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: 8/31/20
September 1, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
One of the state’s major cross country invitationals was run as is tradition Saturday, and yet in an entirely new way to highlight a full weekend of high school events across the state.
1. Cross Country: The annual Benzie Central Pete Moss Invitational was split into more races this fall because of COVID-19 restrictions, with Traverse City Central junior Julia Flynn and Benzie sophomore Hunter Jones the fastest overall on the course – Athletic.net/Up North Live
2. Cross Country: Ishpeming’s Lola Korpi and Marquette’s Carson VanderSchaaf led the way at the Marquette Early Bird Meet – Marquette Mining Journal
3. Boys Tennis: Hudsonville earned 7-1 wins over Traverse City Central and Traverse City West; Central is ranked No. 10 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – Traverse City Record-Eagle
4. Boys Tennis: LPD4 No. 3 Traverse City St. Francis won a strong quad also featuring No. 8 Whitehall, Maple City Glen Lake and No. 10 Ludington – Ludington Daily News
5. Cross Country: Fowlerville’s boys claimed a one-point win at the Laingsburg Early Bird Invitational, while Marshall’s girls won their race by a comfortable margin – Livingston Daily
6. Volleyball: Cadillac finished 6-0 during a pair of quads, defeating Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, Leland, Onaway, Morley Stanwood, Howard City Tri County and McBain – MI Sports Now
7. Volleyball: Charlevoix defeated Pickford and Bellaire to remain undefeated – Petoskey News-Review
8. Boys Soccer: Alpena combined to outscore three opponents 18-0 in finishing first at its Sunrise Side Challenge Cup – WBKB
9. Boys Tennis: Jackson Northwest finished first at the Coldwater Invitational – Coldwater Daily Reporter
10. Volleyball: Bronson traveled north and earned a win over Leland between losses to Traverse City West and Petoskey – Coldwater Daily Reporter