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: 3/11/20

March 11, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Girls Basketball Regional Semifinals dominated Tuesday across Michigan, with some titanic matchups among favorites and major upsets in multiple divisions.

1. Girls Basketball: For the second-straight season reigning Division 3 champion Pewamo-Westphalia survived a challenge from Kent City, this time 40-37 – State Champs Sports Network

2. Girls Basketball: Detroit Renaissance surged in a Division 1 rematch of its recent Operation Friendship game against Farmington Hills Mercy, winning this time 56-33 as Kailee Davis went over 1,000 career points – MLive-Detroit

3. Girls Basketball: Newaygo earned its first Regional Final berth since 1993 with a stunning 47-46 win over Grand Rapids Christian – Grand Rapids Press

4. Girls Basketball: Davison also posted one of the night’s biggest stunners, getting past Flint Carman-Ainsworth 54-49 in Division 1 – Davison Index

5. Girls Basketball: Ubly scored a major 45-33 Division 4 win over Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart on the Irish’s home court – Huron Daily Tribune

6. Girls Basketball: Walled Lake Western avenged an opening-night loss to Clarkston with a 57-47 win in Division 1 – Spinal Column

7. Girls Basketball: Kalamazoo Hackett upset Niles Brandywine 49-43 and Schoolcraft edged Gobles 42-41 to set up a Division 3 Regional Final – WWMT

8. Girls Basketball: Saline set a program record with 22 wins by defeating Wayne Memorial 51-40 in Division 1 – Ann Arbor News

9. Girls Basketball: St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran won another touted Division 4 matchup, downing Fruitport Calvary Christian 54-20 – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

10. Girls Basketball: Charlevoix continued a storied tournament run with a 65-29 win over Oscoda in Division 3 – Petoskey News-Review