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: 11/13/15

November 13, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The volleyball field was whittled to 32 teams Thursday; here’s a look at two matches from each class that jumped out from the webpage, plus a couple interesting reads to check out this morning.

Volleyball

Class A No. 2 Mattawan needed all five sets and extra points in two of them to down No. 10 DeWitt for a Regional title – Kalamazoo Gazette

Reigning Class A champion and current No. 6 Romeo needed five sets to get past honorable mention Utica Eisenhower – Macomb Daily

Class B No. 7 Goodrich won its first Regional title with a sweep of honorable mention Marysville – Flint Journal

Annual contender Lake Odessa Lakewood will return to the final week; the No. 3 Vikings swept No. 9 Grand Rapids South Christian – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Class C No. 6 Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian upset No. 3 Montague 3-1 for its first Regional title since 1999 – Grand Rapids Press

Class C top-ranked Bronson continued its impressive run with a four-set win over No. 9 Schoolcraft – Sturgis Journal

Class D No. 8 Mendon will return to the Quarterfinals after a sweep of honorable mention Climax-Scotts that included two two-point set wins – Sturgis Journal

Leland, No. 3 in Class D, won its fifth straight Regional title, this time with a sweep of Fife Lake Forest Area – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Good Reads

East Grand Rapids yearly has one of Michigan’s top girls swimming and diving programs – and this fall, it’s driven in part by seven sets of sisters – Grand Rapids Press

Football has served a few purposes for Dansville running back Ethan Korb, a 2,000-yard rusher this fall and the son of a cancer survivor – Lansing State Journal