Today in the MHSAA: 9/17/15
September 17, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Today’s know-your-sports checklist includes catching up on impressive feats by some of the state’s top-ranked girls golf teams and enjoying a pair of inspirational stories about leading soccer scorers.
Girls Golf
Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 4 Lake Orion won the Oakland County Division 1 Tournament for the second straight season, edging No. 6 Novi by one shot and No. 1 Rochester by two – Oakland Press
Three Spring Lake golfers carded three birdies apiece to lead the LP Division 3 No. 1 Lakers to a 53-stroke win in the Lakes 8 jamboree on their home course – Muskegon Chronicle
Boys Soccer
Freeland improved to 11-1 with its first win over Saginaw Swan Valley in three seasons, also handing the Vikings their first loss this fall – Saginaw News
Boys Tennis
Midland Dow, No. 1 in Lower Peninsula Division 2, fell to No. 3 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central at the Midweek Classic, but still won the tournament thanks to No. 6 Detroit U-D Jesuit’s win over FHC – Midland Daily News and Saginaw News
Volleyball
Ionia swept reigning Capital Area Activities Conference White champion Williamston, beating the Hornets for the first time under sixth-year coach Jeanna Kraatz – Ionia Sentinel-Standard
Niles emerged as the biggest winner from the SMAC 6-Pack Tournament on its home floor with victories over Battle Creek Lakeview, Battle Creek Central and Richland Gull Lake, all in two games – Niles Daily Star
Bay City John Glenn improved to 9-1 with a win over Tawas, opening North East Michigan Conference play as the reigning champion and with nearly the same lineup as in 2014 – Bay City Times
Good Reads
We’re big fans of athletes who play multiple sports, and Port Huron’s Jon Miller is one of the latest – he’s the soccer team’s leading scorer and the top field goal kicker in school history, plus one of the football team’s leading receivers. A great line from the story: “But if there’s one kid that can take this on, it’s the kid that’s loading his senior year with as many memories as possible.” – Port Huron Times-Herald
Andrew Shippell is Marshall’s leading scorer this season, and after three years of fighting is preparing to celebrate a milestone – the end of his chemotherapy in February – Battle Creek Enquirer
Today in the MHSAA: 4/25/16
April 25, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
An intriguing tournament format, track and field dominance by a statewide power and the return to baseball by one of our Upper Peninsula schools were among events gaining notable headlines over the weekend.
Baseball
L’Anse played its first high school baseball games in more than 50 years, splitting with Hancock – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
Boyne City ace Derek Willis no-hit Bath in helping his team to an East Jackson Dome Classic championship for the second straight season – Petoskey News
Unranked Clinton took a doubleheader from Division 3 No. 6 and reigning champion Jackson Lumen Christi, 11-9 and 8-5 – Adrian Daily Telegram
Division 3 top-ranked Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett split with Detroit Country Day on Saturday, winning the opener 3-0 before suffering its first loss, 6-0 – Detroit News
Jake Dabkowski followed teammate Sergio Diaz with Grand Rapids Union’s second straight no-hitter, this one in a 5-0 win over Comstock Park – Grand Rapids Press
Baseball/Softball
Leroy Pine River won the first Osceola County Royal Rumble, which combined results of the baseball and softball teams. The Bucks finished 4-0 – Cadillac News
Track & Field
Midland’s girls won the annual Swayze Relays, this time at Northwood University, by 14 points over Traverse City West, while West’s boys broke Midland’s winning streak in the accompanying Graves Relays – Midland Daily News
The two-time reigning Lower Peninsula Division 1 champion Oak Park girls just edged Lake Orion 94-90 to win the Oxford Invitational, while Oak Park’s boys dominated by more this time finishing 26 points ahead of Walled Lake Central – Oakland Press