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: 2/20/19

February 20, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Basketball and skiing dominated headlines from Tuesday as the league championship train continued to rumble through the Lower Peninsula.

1. Skiing: Harbor Springs’ girls won their 11th straight Lake Michigan Conference championship, while Great Northern Alpine’s boys finished a sweep for their title – Petoskey News-Review

2. Girls Basketball: Hamilton claimed its third straight Ottawa-Kent Conference Green title with a big win over second-place Byron Center – Holland Sentinel

3. Boys Basketball: Quincy clinched its third straight Big 8 Conference title with a big win over Bronson – Coldwater Daily Reporter

4. Boys Basketball: Big Rapids Crossroads won its first outright West Michigan D League title since 2011 with a 55-44 win over Bear Lake – Big Rapids News

5. Boys Basketball: Oxford claimed a share of the Oakland Activities Association Blue title by finishing a season sweep of second-place Pontiac – Oakland Press

6. Girls Basketball: Cadillac clinched the Big North Conference title with a 49-39 win over Traverse City West – Cadillac News

7. Boys Basketball: Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern clinched a share of the O-K White title with a big win over rival Forest Hills Central – WOOD TV

8. Boys Basketball: Pellston won a share of the Ski Valley Conference title in defeating Onaway 92-66 – Petoskey News-Review

9. Skiing: Petoskey’s boys and Traverse City Central’s girls finished Big North Conference title runs – Petoskey News-Review

10. Boys Basketball: Muskegon clinched a share of the O-K Black title with a big win over Mona Shores – Local Sports Journal

Also of note …

Bowling: Sturgis’ boys downed Bronson’s 25-5 in a matchup of top-ranked teams in Divisions 2 and 4, respectively – Sturgis Journal

Boys Basketball: Petersburg-Summerfield locked up the outright Tri-County Conference title with a 55-33 win over Sand Creek – Monroe News

Girls Basketball: Fruitport Calvary Christian finished an outright Alliance League title run with a 52-40 win over Kentwood Grand River Prep – Local Sports Journal

Girls Basketball: Coleman downed Breckenridge 49-40 as Jaden Berthume became the first 1,000-point scorer in Comets history – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Boys Basketball: Britton-Deerfield came back to defeat Addison in overtime with Zac Clark scoring his 1,000th point during the win – Adrian Daily Telegram

Boys Basketball: Hale defeated Posen 70-56, but Posen’s Jared Sharpe reached 1,000 career points – Alpena News

Girls Basketball: Matti Rayman went over 1,000 career points as Otsego defeated Comstock 62-50 – WWMT

Girls Basketball: Caitlyn Bruff went over 1,000 career points in New Lothrop’s 50-34 win over Birch Run – Flint Journal

Boys Basketball: From Monday, Ypsilanti Lincoln clinched the Southeastern Conference White title with a 73-65 win over Jackson – Detroit News

Boys Basketball: From Monday, Sturgis downed Edwardsburg 49-40 to claim the Wolverine Conference South championship – JoeInsider.com