Today in the MHSAA: 8/26/15
August 26, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Today is prep football preview section day for most newspapers around the state, and copies will be flying as fans get prepped for Thursday’s opening games.
But there are plenty of headlines that pop up up from Tuesday’s non-football events – see those and links to coverage below, and yes, also a link to a great football story.
Cross Country
Reigning Lower Peninsula Division 4 champion Ava Stenge of Battle Creek St. Philip kicked off this fall with a win at the South Haven Rust Buster Invitational in a time of 18:18 – Battle Creek Enquirer
Staying in LP Division 4, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart won its second invitational this season, claiming the gold division title at the Remus Chippewa Hills Warrior Invite ahead of reigning Division 4 champion Beal City – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
St. Joseph sophomore Anna Fischer set a school record at Tuesday’s St. Joseph Invitational, running 18:52 – but finished second to another impressive underclassmen, Portage Northern freshman Peyton Witt (18:48) – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Girls Golf
Big Rapids hasn’t had a golfer shoot in the 70s since Elizabeth Dawkins in 2009, but younger sister Alexis did so Tuesday in a league jamboree win – Big Rapids Pioneer
Boys Soccer
Flint Powers won the first soccer game played in 29 years at Atwood Stadium, defeating Detroit Country Day 4-1 at the renovated long-serving local landmark, now managed by Kettering University – Flint Journal
Volleyball
Lake Orion, an expected contender in Class A this fall, finished undefeated at the Oxford quad against Oxford, Grand Blanc and reigning Class B semifinalist Pontiac Notre Dame Prep – Oakland Press
Good Read
First-year Traverse City Central varsity football coach Eric Schugars will begin his head coaching career this weekend but grew up following the program of his father Jack Schugars, the longtime and MHSAA championship-winning leader at Muskegon Oakridge – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Today in the MHSAA: 9/16/2015
September 16, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
MHSAA Finals favorites in cross country and boys tennis got an early look at each other Tuesday, while a Corunna volleyball standout set a school record – literally.
Cross Country
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart has become arguably the team to beat in Lower Peninsula Division 4 girls cross country, evidenced again by its win at the Beal City Invitational ahead of the reigning MHSAA champion Aggies – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Boys Soccer
Division 2 No. 14 Fruitport scored with six minutes to play to push past Division 3 No. 12 Ludington 4-3 – Muskegon Chronicle
Northville, ranked No. 4 in Division 1, improved to 8-0 with a 4-1 win over Livonia Stevenson – Detroit News
Boys Tennis
The top-ranked teams in LP Division 4 met Tuesday, with No. 1 Ann Arbor Greenhills prevailing in close matches to claim a 6-2 win over No. 2 Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett – Mlive-Detroit
We’ve heard of lots of traveling trophies in football, but this might be a first for tennis; Clio tied Swartz Creek 4-4, and with a 5-3 win as well this season, retained “The Rock” – Flint Journal
From Saturday, we’ve got a more detailed account of how the strong competition played out at the Grosse Pointe North Invitational – Grand Rapids Press
Girls Tennis
Iron Mountain, last season’s Upper Peninsula Division 2 runner-up, moved to 14-0 this season in a close match against reigning Division 1 runner-up Kingsford – Iron Mountain Daily News
Volleyball
Reigning Class A champion Romeo rode a strong finishing run by Miss Volleyball favorite Gia Milana to down always-powerful Marysville – Macomb Daily
Corunna’s Skylar Napier broke her school’s career assists record with 2,328 during a pair of wins over Lake Fenton and Montrose – Flint Journal
Midland Bullock Creek may be unranked, but at least locally has been nearly unstoppable, moving to 19-2-1 with a pair of wins Monday – Midland Daily News
Good Read
And a good cause – Okemos and Mason’s boys soccer teams introduced this season’s "Compete for a Cause" game, which will be played Sept. 26 under the lights at Okemos High School. The teams combined last season to raise $11,000 for childhood cancer research – Lansing State Journal