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: 11/3/15
November 3, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Monday saw the first games of this season’s MHSAA Volleyball Tournament – and with those, a number of key matches including a few that came down to the final set.
Volleyball
Class A No. 4 Lake Orion swept honorable mention Clarkston, guaranteeing an end to the Wolves’ string of eight straight District championships – Oakland Press
Portage Central won a matchup of Class A honorable mentions, sweeping Niles 3-0 in their opener – Kalamazoo Gazette
Class B top-ranked Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard started what it hopes will be a title run with a sweep of No. 10 Chelsea – AnnArbor.com
Class B honorable mentions Coopersville and Fruitport also met in an opener, with Coopersville coming away with a sweep – Grand Rapids Press
Also in Class B, Essexville Garber won a battle of Tri-Valley Conference teams, claiming the fifth game 15-12 to win the match 3-2 – Saginaw News
Concord lost the first two sets to Hanover-Horton in their Class C opener, but came back to win 3-2 – Jackson Citizen-Patriot
Good Read
We’ve heard a few stories like this in the past, but they never get old. Algonac’s Morgan Beadlescomb is one of the top cross country runners in Michigan and won the Lower Peninsula Division 2 title last season – and last week, pulled St. Clair’s Jack Keais to the latter's first sub-16 minute finish – Port Huron Times-Herald