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: 8/25/20

August 25, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Special for Second Half

Volleyball is ramping up in northern Michigan, with Traverse City Central posting an impressive start Monday with three wins including two over teams ranked at the end of the 2019 regular season.

1. Volleyball: Traverse City Central opened with a strong string of wins, defeating Kingsley, Beaverton and Petoskey – Traverse City Record-Eagle

2. Girls Golf: Petoskey’s 361 was the overall low score at the Grayling Invitational – Petoskey News

3. Boys Tennis: Ludington, No. 10 in Lower Peninsula Division 4, swept doubles to defeat Coopersville 5-3 – Ludington Daily News

4. Cross Country: Manistee Catholic Central swept championships in its division of the Fruitport Calvary Christian Trojan/Eagle Invitational – Manistee News Advocate

5. Cross Country: Grand Haven earned a sweep against Zeeland East – Grand Haven Tribune

6. Boys Tennis: Niles Brandywine moved to 2-0 with a 6-2 win over Niles High – Niles Daily Star

7. Boys Tennis: Coldwater also moved to 2-0 by edging Bronson 5-3 – Coldwater Daily Reporter

8. Girls Tennis: Escanaba won three singles matches on the way to defeating Gladstone 5-3 – Escanaba Daily Press

9. Girls Golf: Holland West Ottawa edged Zeeland East by five strokes – Holland Sentinel

10. Boys Tennis: Bay City Western downed Essexville Garber 6-2 – Bay City Times