Today in the MHSAA: 9/30/15

September 30, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Ranked teams faced off all over the state in a variety of sports Tuesday – but perhaps the most intriguing score was a tie in tennis between teams outside the state coaches polls.

Cross Country

The Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 6 Saline boys raced past No. 14 Monroe in the second Southeastern Conference jamboree after falling to Monroe in the first. In the girls race, No. 3 Saline edged No. 6 Ann Arbor Pioneer by only five points – AnnArbor.com

Ithaca’s girls, No. 3 in LP Division 2, won their eighth straight Tri-Valley Conference West jamboree, dating to 2013, and ahead of a field that includes No. 14 St. Louis – Saginaw News

The Chassell girls, No. 1 in Upper Peninsula Division 3, won the Houghton Invitational keyed by a strong group leading the pack – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Boys Soccer

LP Division 1 top-ranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central earned another impressive win, this time 4-0 over Division 2 No. 6 East Grand Rapids – Grand Rapids Press

LP Division 4 No. 5 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian outlasted No. 8 Grand Rapids Covenant Christian 2-1 – Muskegon Chronicle

Boys Tennis

Jackson found itself with only four players this summer as it prepared for the fall season – but turned that into 14 and tied rival Jackson Lumen Christi on Tuesday – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Volleyball

Unranked Kalamazoo Hackett pushed rival and Class C No. 7 Kalamazoo Christian to five sets before Christian prevailed 15-8 to close out the match – Kalamazoo Gazette

Montague, No. 2 in Class C, swept Whitehall to end the Vikings’ 54-match win streak in West Michigan Conference play – Muskegon Chronicle

Class B No. 4 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep survived a tough four-set match against rival and Class A honorable mention Bloomfield Hills Marian, with three of four sets decided by three or fewer points – Oakland Press

Today in the MHSAA: 9/16/16

September 16, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A number of intriguing results came in from girls golf and volleyball Thursday, and make sure to check out a number of “Good Reads” to get you into another sports-filled weekend.  

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Girls Golf

Midland Dow’s Stephanie Carras continued a dominating season for the top-ranked team in Division 2, winning a playoff hole tiebreaker to earn the medalist honor at the Ann Arbor Pioneer Invitational – Midland Daily News

Second-year program Shepherd won its third straight Tri-Valley Conference West jamboree – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Volleyball

Lake Orion won a matchup of honorable mention teams in the Class A rankings, sweeping Rochester Hills Stoney Creek – Oakland Press

Houghton took down Calumet in four sets to take an upper hand among top teams at the top of the Upper Peninsula – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Less than a week after falling to DeTour in the final at its home invitational, Pickford downed DeTour in three sets in league play – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Good Reads

Longtime Brighton swim coach Tim McInnis died suddenly Tuesday, leaving behind a community where his influence has been felt for decades – Livingston Post

MLive tells the story of the football rivalry between Utica Eisenhower and Sterling Heights Stevenson through the eyes of their former longtime coaches – MLive-Detroit

Two days before his father and former Farmington hockey coach Bill Newton died after a fight with cancer, Chris Newton – his dad’s former assistant the a former goalie on the team – received a lung transplant that is providing him new opportunities – Observer & Eccentric

Katherine Ristola’s older brother Jonathan never got to play varsity football because of injuries his junior and senior years. But she’s taken the opportunity to play in part with him in mind and become a big part of the Livonia Churchill football family – Detroit Free Press

Vanessa Romero has played football for 10 years, and after starting at the subvarsity level is contributing on the offensive line for Westland John Glenn’s varsity – Detroit News