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: 11/13/15
November 13, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The volleyball field was whittled to 32 teams Thursday; here’s a look at two matches from each class that jumped out from the webpage, plus a couple interesting reads to check out this morning.
Volleyball
Class A No. 2 Mattawan needed all five sets and extra points in two of them to down No. 10 DeWitt for a Regional title – Kalamazoo Gazette
Reigning Class A champion and current No. 6 Romeo needed five sets to get past honorable mention Utica Eisenhower – Macomb Daily
Class B No. 7 Goodrich won its first Regional title with a sweep of honorable mention Marysville – Flint Journal
Annual contender Lake Odessa Lakewood will return to the final week; the No. 3 Vikings swept No. 9 Grand Rapids South Christian – Ionia Sentinel-Standard
Class C No. 6 Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian upset No. 3 Montague 3-1 for its first Regional title since 1999 – Grand Rapids Press
Class C top-ranked Bronson continued its impressive run with a four-set win over No. 9 Schoolcraft – Sturgis Journal
Class D No. 8 Mendon will return to the Quarterfinals after a sweep of honorable mention Climax-Scotts that included two two-point set wins – Sturgis Journal
Leland, No. 3 in Class D, won its fifth straight Regional title, this time with a sweep of Fife Lake Forest Area – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Good Reads
East Grand Rapids yearly has one of Michigan’s top girls swimming and diving programs – and this fall, it’s driven in part by seven sets of sisters – Grand Rapids Press
Football has served a few purposes for Dansville running back Ethan Korb, a 2,000-yard rusher this fall and the son of a cancer survivor – Lansing State Journal