Today in the MHSAA: 9/23/15

September 23, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Top-ranked soccer teams continued to face off Tuesday on the west side of Michigan, which also is mourning the passing of a major voice in both the high school and college games.

Cross Country

The Upper Peninsula Division 1 No. 3 Calumet girls finished ahead of No. 5 Houghton and others for the Calumet Invitational title, while Houghton’s boys won as well – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Boys Soccer

Division 1 No. 7 East Kentwood downed No. 20 Rockford 2-0 to move into first place in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red – Grand Rapids Press

In another battle of ranked opponents, Division 2 No. 10 Fruitport moved into first place alone in the Lakes 8 Conference with a 1-0 win over No. 7 Spring Lake – Muskegon Chronicle

Rivals Portage Northern and Portage Central met with first place in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East on the line, and Northern handed Central its first loss this season, 2-0 – Kalamazoo Gazette

Division 2 No. 17 DeWitt edged top-ranked Mason 1-0 to take control in the Capital Area Activities Conference Red race. 

Volleyball

Class A No. 7 Romeo was pushed to seven games by rival Macomb Dakota before clinching with a 15-3 victory that included nine of a match-high 30 kills by all-stater Gia Milana – Macomb Daily

Marine City and St. Clair split the first four sets before the Mariners came away with a 17-15 win in the decider of this Macomb Area Conference Gold match – Port Huron Times-Herald

Good Reads

The wait was worth it for the Adrian Madison girls golf team, which has found immediate success since forming three years ago – Adrian Daily Telegram

West Michigan is mourning to the death of longtime radio voice Doug Wentworth, who called Calvin College men’s basketball games for 50 years and also received an MHSAA Bush Award in 2005 for his service to the high school game – Calvin College

Today in the MHSAA: 9/14/15

September 14, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

There's plenty of news and notes to share from a busy weekend all over Michigan, including some impressive runs by likely Class A volleyball contenders.

Boys Soccer

Mattawan held on against Portage Northern with a 2-1 overtime win Saturday, and held on to the No. 4 ranking in Division 2 this morning – Kalamazoo Gazette

Fraser, ranked No. 3 in Division 1, scored on a penalty kick to claim a 2-1 win over No. 17 Utica Ford and its Fraser Soccer Showcase Invitational championship – Macomb Daily

Girls Swimming and Diving

East Grand Rapids edged Rockford by 10 points to claim the West Michigan Relays at East Kentwood; both are ranked among the top 10 in their respective divisions – Grand Rapids Press

Boys Tennis

Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central snapped Midland Dow’s string of five straight MHSAA championships at last season’s Finals, and finished first ahead of Dow by a point at Saturday’s Grosse Pointe North Invitational – Midland Daily News

Volleyball

Mattawan had a great Saturday all around, as its Class A No. 5 volleyball team was champion at the Grandville Invitational going 7-0 on the day – Kalamazoo Gazette

Class A No. 4 Grand Rapids Christian fell to Class B No. 2 Lake Odessa Lakewood in a tournament final earlier this season, but this time was the victor to win the East Kentwood Invitational – Grand Rapids Press

Petoskey improved to 17-3-2 this season by winning its own invitational, downing Harbor Springs in two sets in the final – Petoskey News

Good Reads

Logan MacGregor has an MHSAA Finals tennis win to his credit, pretty incredible for someone who only recently took up the sport – and more incredible for someone who has battled through leukemia – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Longtime Marine City Cardinal Mooney girls basketball coach Susan Everhart has stepped down after 25 seasons, three MHSAA Semifinals and a championship game appearance – Port Huron Times-Herald

Former Detroit Pershing star Spencer Haywood was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last week – Detroit Free Press