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: 10/7/15
October 7, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A record-setting cross country run tops today’s sampling of headline makers from across Michigan, and we finish the list with an intriguing boys basketball coaching hire.
Cross Country
Mount Pleasant’s Mac LaBelle broke a school record set in 1983 by running a 16:07.3 to win the DeWitt Invitational earlier this season; he went 15:58.73 on Tuesday – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
The first-year Engadine cross country program, featured three weeks ago on Second Half, hosted its first home meet Tuesday – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News
Girls Golf
Adrian Madison, which debuted in the state poll this week at No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 4, won the Lenawee County Tournament by 51 strokes with a score of 364 – Adrian Daily Telegram
Boys Soccer
Division 2 No. 2 Mattawan defeated Division 1 No. 8 Portage Central in a matchup of one-loss teams and with a berth in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference final on the line – Kalamazoo Gazette
Sixth-seeded and unranked Grand Ledge upset third-seeded and Division 2 No. 5 Mason 3-2 in the first round of Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup play – Mlive-Lansing
Volleyball
Class A No. 8 Birmingham Seaholm edged honorable mention Clarkston 3-2, defeating the Wolves in league play for the first time since 2005 – Oakland Press
Boys Basketball
Battle Creek Central has named former Albion coach Durant Crum as the program’s new leader; Crum led Albion teams to Class B Semifinals and Class C Quarterfinals over 11 seasons before that school closed in 2013 – Battle Creek Enquirer