Today in the MHSAA: 8/31/15

August 31, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The final weekend of August was a giant weekend for MHSAA volleyball contenders, with some of the top regular-season events this fall providing opportunities for the best to see how they might match up when playoffs begin in two months.

Below are headlines for some of the key high school reports from across the state; the weekend’s football round-up will publish later this afternoon.  

Cross Country

Muskegon Reeths-Puffer’s Maryssa Depies set a course record of 18:11.3 to win the Big Red Invitational at McGraft Park – Muskegon Chronicle

Flint Powers Catholic’s top individual finisher came in ninth, but the Chargers girls as a team were first at the Lansing Catholic Invitational – Flint Journal

The reigning Lower Peninsula Division 2 champion Grand Rapids Christian boys repeated as winner of the prestigious Benzie Central Invitational, finishing ahead of Traverse City West and Central, while Central senior Anthony Berry won individually in 15:24 – Grand Rapids Press

Boys Soccer

Tawas, a Division 3 semifinalist last season, finished first from an Elk Rapids Invitational field that included Berkley and Saginaw Nouvel – Bay City Times

Volleyball

Lake Odessa Lakewood, last season’s Class B runner-up and the second-ranked team in that class this week, eliminated Class A No. 6 Grand Rapids Christian to win the West Michigan Volleyball Officials Association tournament for the first time in a decade – Grand Rapids Press

Class A No. 4 Grand Haven continued its perfect run at its outdoor Battle of the Boardwalk tournament, sweeping three opponents to remain undefeated through the event's third year – Grand Haven Tribune

Battle Creek Harper Creek, No. 9 in Class B, improved to 17-0 by winning the Cereal City Tournament at Pennfield with a 2-1 championship match win over Temperance Bedford, an MHSAA semifinalist last season in Class A – Battle Creek Enquirer

Good Reads

The Holland Sentinel introduced its top female athletes in that area’s history Sunday, and highlighted nationally-known softball star Kathy Arendsen and her successes during one of the MHSAA’s first Softball Finals – Holland Sentinel

Anyone who follows high school football history will enjoy going through the Muskegon Chronicle’s sampling of top-20 moments from that area’s football past – Muskegon Chronicle

More than 60 former Shepherd High School players from the last 25 seasons returned for an alumni doubleheader Sunday to honor coach Jack Nartker, who will retire after this spring – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Today in the MHSAA: 5/24/19

May 24, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Teams across Michigan are finishing up their regular-season schedules, with the Lakes Valley Conference tournaments played at University of Michigan making some of the biggest headlines Thursday.

1. Softball: Division 1 No. 10 Walled Lake Northern downed No. 4 South Lyon to win the Lakes Valley Conference tournament title – Oakland Press

2. Baseball: Division 1 No. 9 South Lyon locked up the Lakes Valley Conference regular-season title, while Walled Lake Northern came back to finish a league tournament championship – State Champs Sports Network

3. Girls Soccer: Laney Peasley became her school’s all-time scoring leader in a Division 2 District win over Fremont – Grand Haven Tribune

4. Softball: Division 1 No. 3 Howell celebrated the Kensington Lakes Activities Association overall title with a 10-1 win over honorable mention Livonia Stevenson – Livingston Press & Argus

5. Baseball: Division 3 No. 11 Cass City swept Reese to lock up the Greater Thumb Conference West title for the first time since 2012 – Huron Daily Tribune

6. Boys Golf: Plymouth, No. 9 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, edged Howell by six strokes to win the KLAA tournament – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

7. Baseball: Midland swept Bay City Central to claim a share of the Saginaw Valley League North title – Midland Daily News

8. Baseball: Division 1 No. 7 Brighton downed Livonia Stevenson 8-0 to clinch the overall KLAA title for the first time since 2012 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

9. Softball: Battle Creek Lakeview downed Harper Creek to clinch its first All-City championship since 1999 – Battle Creek Enquirer

10. Boys Golf: Third-year program Johannesburg-Lewiston won the North Woods Golf Conference tournament – Petoskey News-Review

Also of note …

Baseball: Saugatuck clinched the Southwestern Athletic Conference Lakeshore title with a sweep of Coloma – Holland Sentinel

Track & Field: The Hale boys and Rogers City girls won North Star League championship meet titles – Alpena News

Baseball: From Wednesday, Joe Kelley added to one of the best stories in the state this spring – after being cut from Division 1 No. 12 Rockford’s varsity a year ago, he set the school’s home run record this season and finished an Ottawa-Kent Conference Red outright title run with a 15th-inning round-tripper – Grand Rapids Press

Track & Field: From Wednesday, the Quincy girls and Concord boys won Big 8 league meet titles – Coldwater Daily Reporter Girls | Boys

Track & Field: From Wednesday, Ithaca’s boys and St. Louis’ girls (No. 10 in LPD3) locked up Tri-Valley Conference West meet championships – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Baseball: From Tuesday, Division 2 No. 7 Edwardsburg swept South Haven to lock up a fifth straight Wolverine Conference title – Niles Daily Star

Baseball: From Wednesday, New Lothrop and Chesaning will share the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference title after New Lothrop split with Durand – Owosso Argus-Press