Today in the MHSAA: 8/25/2015

August 25, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A soccer coach celebrated his 1,000th game and a community mourned the passing of a longtime football program leader.

Those and a feature on a member of our Student Advisory Council are among today’s notable headlines and links to coverage below.

Football

Newaygo is mourning the passing of longtime coach Mark Puff, who guided the varsity to 128 wins and seven league titles over 22 seasons before retiring in 2000 – Muskegon Chronicle

Girls Golf

Jackson Lumen Christi went from two returning members last season to 17 golfers total this fall and won its first tournament since 2013 by edging Parma Western by six strokes at Hanover-Horton’s invitational – Jackson Citizen Patriot

Boys Soccer

Fraser coach Thaier Mukhtar coached his 1,000th high school soccer game Monday (boys and girls games combined), guiding his team to a 5-0 win over Romeo. He formerly coached the Warren DeLaSalle boys and leads both teams at Fraser – Macomb Daily

Saginaw Heritage has posted three shutouts during a 4-0 start after finishing 9-10-1 last season; Monday’s was a 4-0 win over Flushing – Saginaw News

Alma’s Brevan Bender is coming off a season during which he set a school record with 30 goals, and Monday he netted five in an 8-0 win over Birch Run – Saginaw News

Volleyball

Left over from Saturday: St. Louis has long been one of the dominant programs in Class C statewide and against all classes in the mid-Michigan area; Ithaca beat the Sharks for the first time since 1993 when they faced off at the Alma Invitational – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Good Read

Muskegon senior Jared Pittman played in last season’s MHSAA Division 3 Football Final, and after his team was defeated handed the trophy to Orchard Lake St. Mary’s as a member of the MHSAA Student Advisory Council. He’ll be a significant contributor to his team and the Council this fall – Detroit Free Press

Today in the MHSAA: 10/12/17

October 12, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

Today's Top 10

1. Girls Golf: For the first time in 36 years, Sturgis won a Regional in this sport, claiming its Lower Peninsula Division 2 tournament by 21 strokes – Sturgis Journal

2. Boys Soccer: Division 1 No. 5 Detroit Catholic Central shut out Division 2 No. 3 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 4-0 to win the Detroit Catholic League A-B championship – Observer & Eccentric

3. Boys Soccer: Division 1 No. 9 Northville won its first boys soccer championship in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association with a 1-0 victory over No. 12 Plymouth – Observer & Eccentric

4. Boys Soccer: Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard got past Madison Heights Bishop Foley 4-1 to earn its first Catholic League C-D title in the sport – Oakland Press

5. Cross Country: Ithaca’s boys and girls teams finished a sweep of Tri-Valley Conference West jamborees to claim league titles; the boys team is No. 14 in LPD3 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

6. Cross Country: Shepherd did the same as Ithaca but in the TVC Central, with both teams sweeping all three jamborees to earn conference championships; the girls are ranked No. 9 in LPD3, and the boys are No. 11 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

7. Boys Soccer: Division 3 No. 15 Whitehall took back a share of the West Michigan Conference title with a 4-0 win over North Muskegon in the league tournament final after North Muskegon won the regular-season share and beat the Vikings for the championship in 2016 – Local Sports Journal

8. Boys Soccer: Marysville clinched its first league title in boys soccer since 2011 with a 2-1 win over St. Clair – Port Huron Times Herald

9. Cross Country: The Indian River Inland Lakes girls and Johannesburg-Lewiston boys won Ski Valley Conference championship meet titles – Traverse City Record-Eagle

10. Wrestling: Manistee hired its third coach in three years, this time bringing in longtime Saginaw Swan Valley leader Darrell Burchfield, who led the Vikings to a 432-91 record from 2003-16 – Manistee News-Advocate

Also for note:

Girls Cross Country: From Tuesday, Sault Ste. Marie senior Mackenzie Kalchik added a fourth Straits Area Conference individual championship to her impressive career work which this season includes pacing the top-ranked team in Upper Peninsula Division 1 – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News