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: 9/23/20

September 23, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The official first day of Fall in Michigan saw ranked opponents facing off against some of their toughest opponents to date in volleyball and cross country, plus a league championship tournament in golf.

1. Volleyball: No. 6 Charlevoix won a matchup of Division 3 ranked teams, defeating No. 10 Traverse City St. Francis in five sets – Petoskey News-Review

2. Cross Country: The LPD3 No. 13 Grass Lake girls team handed Hanover-Horton its first league loss since 2015 – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

3. Volleyball: Division 1 No. 10 Traverse City West downed Division 2 No. 6 Cadillac 17-15 in the deciding fifth set for a key league win – Up North Live

4. Cross Country: Pinckney’s boys – ranked No. 13 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – edged LPD1 No. 12 Brighton 26-29, while the No. 4 Brighton girls held off unranked Pinckney’s by the same score – Livingston Daily

5. Volleyball: Rudyard ran its Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference winning streak to 43 matches with a 3-1 win over Pickford – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

6. Girls Golf: Adrian Lenawee Christian shot a 393 to win the Independent Golf League championship tournament – JTV

7. Girls Swimming & Diving: Grand Blanc celebrated seven event winners in a 104-82 team victory over Midland Dow; they are honorable mentions in Divisions 1 and 2, respectively – Midland Daily News

8. Volleyball: Division 3 No. 4 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian came back for a five-set win over Ludington – Local Sports Journal

9. Volleyball: Edwardsburg downed Dowagiac 3-1 in a matchup of first-place teams in the Wolverine Conference – Niles Daily Star

10. Boys Soccer: Chelsea improved to 7-0 with a 2-0 win over Melvindale, the reigning Division 2 runner-up – Ann Arbor News

Also of note …

Boys Tennis: From Monday, Lansing Catholic earned a share of the Capital Area Activities Conference White title with a 7-1 win over Ionia – Greenville Daily News

Boys Basketball: Mark Gainforth retired after 24 seasons coaching Unionville-Sebewaing and with a 423-133 record – Bay City Times