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: 10/8/15

October 8, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The start of the Lower Peninsula Girls Golf Tournament included plenty of highlights to top an eventful Wednesday statewide.

Girls Golf

Lower Peninsula Division 2 No. 8 Muskegon Mona Shores won the MHSAA Regional at Thornapple Pointe Golf Club, but Reeths-Puffer freshman Karina VanDuinen also was exceptional going under par to finish first individually – Muskegon Chronicle

LP Division 2 top-ranked Midland Dow tied No. 6 Flushing at 340 and won the Regional title on the fifth-golfer tie-breaker – Saginaw News

Frankenmuth, No. 4 in LP Division 4, won its first Regional title and just ahead of No. 5 Freeland – Saginaw News

New Boston Huron qualified for the MHSAA Finals for the first time in this sport by finishing third at Monroe Country Club – Mlive-Detroit

Boys Soccer

Division 2 top-ranked Holland Christian and Division 3 No. 6 Hudsonville Unity Christian played to a 3-3 tie that made both 6-0-2 in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green – Holland Sentinel

Unranked Tecumseh is 6-4-4 but unbeaten in eight straight after tying Division 2 No. 12 Dexter – Adrian Daily Telegram

Unranked Buckley, a solid 13-2, upset Division 4 No. 3 Leland 2-1. Buckley hadn’t beaten Leland in boys soccer since 2003 – Cadillac News

Division 3 No. 10 Gladwin capped its Northern Michigan Soccer League schedule with another win to finish with a conference record of 10-0 – Midland Daily News

Volleyball

Unranked Mason, a Class A quarterfinalist a year ago, downed No. 10 DeWitt in five sets to create a two-team tie atop the Capital Area Activities Conference Red standings – Lansing State Journal

Good Reads

Coldwater will host its first swimming and diving meet tonight thanks to a $15 million dollar donation that paid for a new aquatic center and was given in honor of the school’s Class of 1942 by one of its members – Battle Creek Enquirer

Farmington Hills Harrison football is 5-1 under longtime coach John Herrington in what might be the final season of the school and despite the transfers of two players before the start of practice – Detroit News