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: 9/17/15

September 17, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Today’s know-your-sports checklist includes catching up on impressive feats by some of the state’s top-ranked girls golf teams and enjoying a pair of inspirational stories about leading soccer scorers.

Girls Golf

Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 4 Lake Orion won the Oakland County Division 1 Tournament for the second straight season, edging No. 6 Novi by one shot and No. 1 Rochester by two – Oakland Press

Three Spring Lake golfers carded three birdies apiece to lead the LP Division 3 No. 1 Lakers to a 53-stroke win in the Lakes 8 jamboree on their home course – Muskegon Chronicle

Boys Soccer

Freeland improved to 11-1 with its first win over Saginaw Swan Valley in three seasons, also handing the Vikings their first loss this fall – Saginaw News

Boys Tennis

Midland Dow, No. 1 in Lower Peninsula Division 2, fell to No. 3 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central at the Midweek Classic, but still won the tournament thanks to No. 6 Detroit U-D Jesuit’s win over FHC – Midland Daily News and Saginaw News

Volleyball

Ionia swept reigning Capital Area Activities Conference White champion Williamston, beating the Hornets for the first time under sixth-year coach Jeanna Kraatz – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Niles emerged as the biggest winner from the SMAC 6-Pack Tournament on its home floor with victories over Battle Creek Lakeview, Battle Creek Central and Richland Gull Lake, all in two games – Niles Daily Star

Bay City John Glenn improved to 9-1 with a win over Tawas, opening North East Michigan Conference play as the reigning champion and with nearly the same lineup as in 2014 – Bay City Times

Good Reads

We’re big fans of athletes who play multiple sports, and Port Huron’s Jon Miller is one of the latest – he’s the soccer team’s leading scorer and the top field goal kicker in school history, plus one of the football team’s leading receivers. A great line from the story: “But if there’s one kid that can take this on, it’s the kid that’s loading his senior year with as many memories as possible.” – Port Huron Times-Herald

Andrew Shippell is Marshall’s leading scorer this season, and after three years of fighting is preparing to celebrate a milestone – the end of his chemotherapy in February – Battle Creek Enquirer