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: 12/14/15

December 14, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Close finishes highlighted the first Friday of boys basketball season, as those results led a weekend of impressive performances across the state in a variety of sports.

Boys Basketball

Class C Flint Beecher outlasted Class A Detroit East English 72-69 at the Horatio Williams Foundation Tip-Off Classic – Flint Journal

Reigning champion Lansing Everett opened its season with a 55-48 win over Grand Ledge in a matchup of the top two teams from the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue in 2014-15 – Lansing State Journal

Trishton Jackson scored to send the game to overtime and then added the game-winner in the extra period as West Bloomfield edged Southfield Christian 77-76 at the Oakland County Invitational – Mlive-Detroit

Ludington opened up Lakes 8 Conference play with a 54-42 win over reigning champion Muskegon Catholic Central – Ludington Daily News

Marquette rode the hot hand of Troy Sergey, who scored 22 points in a 68-60 win over Traverse City West on Saturday at the Petoskey Invitational – Marquette Mining Journal

From Thursday, St. Ignace football star Gage Kreski is pretty good at basketball too; he had 38 points, 13 rebounds and nine steals in a 75-48 win over Rudyard – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Girls Basketball

Muskegon Mona Shores standout Jordan Walker, also a member of the MHSAA Student Advisory Council, had 26 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals in a 68-42 win over Dearborn Heights Robichaud – Muskegon Chronicle

Girls Bowling

Paw Paw came back from a 10-0 deficit after the Baker games to edge Portage Northern 16-14 thanks in part to a 311 series by Grace Sylvester – Kalamazoo Gazette

Ice Hockey

Reid Pietila scored all five goals as Houghton defeated Utica Eisenhower 5-1 on Friday – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Wrestling

St. Johns, No. 2 in Division 2, finished 5-0 at the Jackson Area Wrestling Showdown with wins over Division 1 No. 9 Temperance Bedford and Division 4 No. 5 Manchester – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Every Hartland wrestler placed among the top five at his weight as the Division 1 top-ranked Eagles won their invitational – Livingston Daily