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: 11/4/15

November 4, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Girls Volleyball Districts continued Tuesday with 55 games across the state, but one of the biggest headlines told of a softball coaching hire in Monroe County.

Volleyball

Saginaw Heritage advanced in Class A with a five-set win over Mount Pleasant; the teams split during the regular season – Saginaw News

Class A No. 8 Rockford opened with a sweep of Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern – Grand Rapids Press

Class A No. 10 DeWitt swept East Lansing in their first-round match – Lansing State Journal

Reigning Class D champion Battle Creek St. Philip opened with a sweep of Marshall Academy coming off Saturday’s 1,000th win by coach Vicky Groat – Battle Creek Enquirer

From Monday, Carney-Nadeau fell in the first two sets before winning the final three of its Class D opener against Felch North Dickinson – Escanaba Daily Press

Softball

Former standout catcher Caitlin Blanchard, who led Petersburg-Summerfield to an MHSAA title in 2010 and then starred at University of Michigan, will return to her high school as coach – Monroe Evening News