Today in the MHSAA: 9/2/15
September 2, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Tuesday was one of the busiest and most noteworthy days so far during the early stages of this fall season, with plenty of key rivalry games and top performances making headlines.
Girls Golf
East Kentwood’s Mackenzie Keenoy has won every event she’s played this season and shot a 35 in the reigning Lower Peninsula Division 1 champion’s eight-stroke win over Hudsonville – Grand Rapids Press
Midland Dow’s Stephanie Carras carded a 2-under 70 to lead her team to its Frank Altimore Invitational championship Monday – Midland Daily News
Boys Soccer
Division 4 Jackson Christian tied annual Division 3 power Jackson Lumen Christi 1-1, ending a recent losing streak to the Titans – Jackson Citizen-Patriot
Reigning Division 1 runner-up Rochester Adams and Warren DeLaSalle are regulars in the Division 1 coaches poll, which debuts next week, and Adams earned a nice bump with a 1-0 win – Macomb Daily
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett fell to Birmingham Roeper in last season’s Division 4 Regional Final, but avenged by downing the reigning MHSAA champion 4-3 – Student & Athlete
Boys Tennis
Kalamazoo Christian won a matchup of rivals that both finished among the top 10 in LP Division 4 last season; Christian, which tied for eighth, downed Hackett (tied for fifth) 5-3 – Kalamazoo Gazette
Volleyball
Bay City John Glenn won the Bay County Championship tournament in dominating fashion, sweeping All Saints, Central and Pinconning after a loss to Western, and then coming back to beat the Warriors in the final – Bay City Times
Marysville is unranked in the coaches state poll this week, but that won’t last long; the Vikings are 11-0-2 after winning the Warren Cousino Invitational on Tuesday – Port Huron Times-Herald
Good Read
Rockford is dealing with the unfortunate loss for the season of injured all-stater Mitchell Herried, but what the Rams lost on the field they’ve gained with another coach on the sideline – Grand Rapids Press
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