Today in the MHSAA: 9/23/19

September 23, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Today’s list of the weekend’s top achievers has a definite Grand Rapids-area tilt as teams from five schools from that part of the state emerged as invitational champions in either cross country, golf, volleyball or swimming & diving.

1. Cross Country: The East Grand Rapids girls – No. 1 Lower Peninsula Division 2 – honorable mention Tecumseh and Jackson Lumen Christi girls and LPD1 No. 4 Romeo, LPD3 No. 1 Hanover-Horton and Manchester boys all won championships at the Jackson Invitational – Athletic.net

2. Volleyball: Division 2 No. 5 Coopersville downed honorable mention Kingsley in two sets to win the Cadillac Tournament title – Traverse City Record-Eagle

3. Volleyball: Division 2 honorable mention Onsted improved to 24-0 with an undefeated run through its invitational, including sweeping Division 4 No. 9 Adrian Lenawee Christian in the final – Adrian Daily Telegram

4. Volleyball: Division 3 No. 5 Bronson also finished a perfect tourney run, taking the Portage Northern Invitational title by downing the host in that final – Coldwater Daily Reporter

5. Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD2 No. 10 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central won the fastest wave of the Portage Central Invitational by a point over the host, ranked No. 5, and also ahead of No. 6 Midland Dow – Midland Daily News

6. Girls Golf: LPD2 top-ranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern shot a 297 to win the Greenville Invitational – Petoskey News-Review

7. Cross Country: The LPD2 No. 8 Sparta boys and No. 5 Cadillac girls won Muskegon Oakridge Invitational championships – Athletic.net

8. Cross Country: The LPD4 No. 8 Pittsford girls and LPD3 honorable mention Leslie boys won Pittsford’s invitational – Hillsdale Daily News

9. Volleyball: Stephenson downed Felch North Dickenson in the final to win the Crystal Falls Forest Park Invitational – Iron Mountain Daily News

10. Cross Country: Roscommon swept the big school championships at the Evart Invitational; the girls are ranked No. 13 in LPD3 – Big Rapids News

Today in the MHSAA: 11/11/20

November 11, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The MHSAA Volleyball Tournament took its next step Tuesday playing Regional Semifinals statewide, with a number of results making waves throughout the brackets.

1. Volleyball: No. 5 Beaverton swept No. 7 Traverse City St. Francis in a Division 3 Regional Semifinal – Midland Daily News

2. Volleyball: No. 2 Lake Odessa Lakewood lost a set – one of few this fall – before emerging with a four-set win over honorable mention Marshall in Division 2 – Lansing State Journal

3. Volleyball: Unranked Grandville Calvin Christian upset No. 4 North Muskegon to advance in Division 3 – Grand Rapids Press

4. Volleyball: Honorable mention Battle Creek St. Philip upset No. 7 New Buffalo 3-1 in a Division 4 Regional Semifinal – WWMT

5. Volleyball: Unranked Edwardsburg swept No. 8 Hamilton to advance in Division 2 – Niles Daily Star

6. Volleyball: Brooklyn Columbia Central continued its program-record run with a 3-1 Regional Semifinal win over Bath in Division 3 – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

7. Volleyball: Honorable mention Traverse City West came back after losing the first set to win the next three over Mount Pleasant – Up North Live

8. Volleyball: DeWitt came back from a late fifth-set deficit to edge Richland Gull Lake in Division 1 – Lansing State Journal

9. Volleyball: No. 6 Ann Arbor Skyline continued its undefeated run this fall with a Division 1 sweep of Trenton – We Love Ann Arbor

10. Volleyball: Grand Blanc will move on in Division 1 after avenging a 2019 Regional loss to Flushing – WJRT

Also of note …

Boys Soccer: Longtime coach Kirt Brown retired after 15 years apiece at Parchment and then Mattawan, having led the latter to the 2016 Division 2 championship – Kalamazoo Gazette

Cross Country/Track & Field: P.J. Pruett is retiring after leading dominant girls and boys programs at Ishpeming in both sports – Upper Michigan’s Source