Today in the MHSAA: 9/30/16
September 30, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We kick off today’s “Today” with an excellent story of sportsmanship from Dowagiac, and finish with an outstanding read on a six-sport athlete from Climax-Scotts.
Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.
Cross Country
Dowagiac freshman Shawn Little won his race at the Wolverine Conference meet – after redirecting the Otsego runners (tied for No. 9 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 this week) trying to catch him back onto the course instead of letting them get disqualified for taking a wrong turn – Niles Daily Star
Girls Golf
Grand Rapids South Christian claimed the Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold tournament title by a stroke, shooting 177 to finish just ahead of Grand Rapids Christian – Grand Rapids Press
Boys Soccer
Division 2 No. 3 Spring Lake just got past Muskegon Reeths-Puffer 2-1 with a goal during the final minutes – Grand Haven Tribune
Girls Swimming & Diving
LP Division 3 No. 6 St. Clair put up 409 points to beat the field by more than 100 at the annual St. Clair County meet – Port Huron Times Herald
LP Division 1 No. 3 Saline earned one of the season's most impressive wins against No. 10 Ann Arbor Pioneer to remain atop the Southeastern Conference standings – Saline Post
Boys Tennis
LP Division 2 No. 1 Midland Dow won all eight flights to claim its 11th straight Saginaw Valley League tournament championship – Midland Daily News
LP Division 1 No. 1 Bloomfield Hills broke No. 5 Troy’s six-year championship streak by winning the Oakland Activities Association Red tournament – Oakland Press
Traverse City Central also took a championship streak into double digits, winning for the 10th straight season in the Big North Conference – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Girls Tennis
Negaunee claimed its third straight MHSAA Finals championship, finishing first in Upper Peninsula Division 1 – Second Half
Volleyball
Brighton is undefeated in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West standings after downing reigning champion Milford in four sets – Livingston Daily Argus & Press
Good Read
We’re big fans of multi-sport athletes, and so we’re big fans of the work of Climax-Scotts’ Zach Scholly, who plans to play football, basketball and golf, wrestle, run cross country and participate in track & field again this school year – Battle Creek Enquirer
Today in the MHSAA: 10/19/16
October 19, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
District soccer continued Tuesday and league champions were crowned in volleyball and cross country all over the Lower Peninsula – but the must-see stories are a pair of “good reads” coming out of the Jackson and Alpena areas.
Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.
Cross Country
The Caro boys – No. 4 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – and the No. 6 Shepherd girls won championships at the Tri-Valley Conference all-division final – Saginaw News
The Ubly girls and boys teams repeated as East champions at the Greater Thumb Conference championship race (Ubly's girls are No. 9 in LPD4), and the Reese girls and LPD4 honorable mention Cass City boys repeated as West winners – Huron Daily Tribune
Traverse City West swept the final Big North Conference jamborees, the West boys earning the league title and the Central girls finishing as overall league champion for the 14th straight season. The Central girls are No. 4 in LPD1 and the West girls are an honorable mention – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Harbor Springs’ boys (No. 2 LPD4) kept their undefeated season going with a third straight Lake Michigan Conference final championship, and Traverse City St. Francis (No. 2 LPD3) clinched the girls title – Petoskey News-Review
Boys Soccer
Division 1 No. 2 Portage Northern moved on with a 4-1 District win over Lansing Everett thanks to three goals by Ryan Melgar – Kalamazoo Gazette
Adrian Lenawee Christian freshman Zach Riordan set his school’s scoring record of 36 goals in an 8-0 Division 4 win over Clinton – Adrian Daily Telegram
Girls Swimming & Diving
LPD1 No. 2 Saline got past No. 10 Brighton 112-74 in a matchup of top Division 1 teams – Saline Post
Volleyball
Walled Lake Central repeated as Lakes champion in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association with a five-set win over Brighton – Livingston Daily Argus & Press
Class A top-ranked Novi swept Canton to win its fourth straight KLAA Kensington championship – Oakland Press
Marine City improved to 8-1 in the Macomb Area Conference Gold and clinched a share of the league title with a three-set win over Warren Mott – Port Huron Times Herald
Good Reads
The story of Brooklyn Columbia Central standout running back Micah Raby is captivating, if not from this passage alone about how his adopted parents found him: “Inside the missionary’s hut, on an ordinary table lay an ordinary bible box containing an extraordinary sight, and it caught Doug and Sandy Raby’s eyes and hearts immediately. Inside that bible box – no bigger than a size 10 shoebox – was a 1-month-old boy named Joseph, one of two surviving triplets. His brother did not survive the birth and the birth parents decided to keep the other one, believed to be a girl, because it was the biggest and had the greatest chance of surviving.” – Jackson Citizen-Patriot
Lincoln Alcona announcer Don Franklin first gave voice to the school’s athletic events in 1967, and will retire at the end of this school year with 50 years on the microphone announcing football and a number of other sports over a half century – Alpena News