Today in the MHSAA: 9/5/17
September 5, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.
Today's Top 10
1. Girls Golf: Brighton finished atop a strong field at the Plymouth Invitational, winning in a tie-breaker over Saline and individual medalist Catherine Loftus (72) – Saline Post
2. Cross Country: In a rare downstate race for an Upper Peninsula team, Sault Ste. Marie’s girls finished third at the Ogemaw Heights Invitational while its boys were third behind champion Alpena – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News
3. Volleyball: After falling to Grandville to start the round-robin schedule, Grand Haven won five straight matches and its End of Summer Bash tournament – Grand Haven Tribune
4. Cross Country: Marquette’s teams swept the Dale Phillips Invitational titles, with impressive individual championships by Negaunee’s Colton Yesney and Marquette’s Ericka Asmus against strong fields – Marquette Mining Journal
5. Boys Tennis: Clarkston edged Ada Forest Hills Eastern 16-14 to win the Traverse City Invitational – Grand Haven Tribune
6. Boys Soccer: Petoskey held Division 2 power Mason to a 0-0 tie to move to 2-3-3 this fall – Petoskey News-Review
7. Cross Country: The Yale boys and Croswell-Lexington girls won the annual Port Huron Invitational championships – Port Huron Times Herald
8. Girls Golf: South Lyon has big plans after finishing third in Lower Peninsula Division 2 last season, and Elizabeth Harding is leading the charge – Observer & Eccentric
9. Boys Soccer: Buckley is having early success this fall with contributions from a number of players who have performed on the big stage – at the Breslin Center during the Basketball Finals – Traverse City Record-Eagle
10. Boys Soccer/Cross Country: We’ve published multiple stories already this school year on athletes playing multiple sports in one season – and Blissfield’s Logan Hudson does as well but with a twist; he plays multiple sports in multiple seasons – Adrian Daily Telegram
Today in the MHSAA: 10/15/15
October 15, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Championship are won on a seemingly daily basis in October, and plenty were earned and celebrated Wednesday – but please also check out some great reads at the bottom of this list, including a look at why specialization is increasing as a nationwide concern.
Cross Country
The Saugatuck girls, ranked No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 4, won their ninth straight Southwestern Athletic Conference title with 12 runners earning all-league honors – Grand Rapids Press
Boys Soccer
LP Division 2 No. 5 East Lansing capped an impressive run through the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup by winning the final 3-1 over Grand Ledge – Lansing State Journal
LP Division 1 No. 15 East Kentwood secured its 12th Ottawa-Kent Conference Red title in 13 seasons with a 1-0 win over Grandville, helped in part by a pair of players whose ties the program go back to the early years of the run – Grand Rapids Press
LP Division 1 No. 7 Utica Ford shut out No. 14 Fraser to clinch the Macomb Area Conference Red championship – Macomb Daily
Unranked Birmingham Brother Rice stunned LP Division 1 No. 3 Detroit Catholic Central 2-1 in the championship game of the Detroit Catholic League A-B tournament – Oakland Press
LP Division 4 No. 11 Charlevoix clinched a share of the Lake Michigan Conference title with a 3-0 win over Grayling, thanks to a hat trick by Walker Drost – Charlevoix Courier
Saginaw Heritage scored the first goal Flint Powers Catholic had given up since Sept. 12, but the Chargers emerged with a 2-1 win and the overall Saginaw Valley League championship – Flint Journal
Volleyball
Lansing Catholic won the first volleyball league championship in its long history, beating Fowlerville in three sets to claim a share of the CAAC White title – Lansing State Journal
Good Reads
Single-sport specialization has become a topic of national focus and concern, and MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts was among association directors talked to for this report on why it’s a health-related issue and how states are working to promote multi-sport participation instead – NFHS.org
Vandercook Lake is enjoying its best football season in 45 years and plays for a league title this weekend, and is led by a three-sport athlete who has been on a long road back after Crohn’s disease led to his shedding 90 pounds only two years ago – Jackson Citizen-Patriot
The Christmas tree standing tall in front of the Capitol in Lansing this winter will come from Wakefield thanks to a donation by Florence Daniels in honor of her husband Jim, who coached Wakefield High's boys basketball team to 355 wins, 12 district the five regional titles in 28 seasons. He also was a member of Channing High’s Upper Peninsula championship team in 1944 and coached Al Inkala, who went on to become an MHSAA championship-winning girls tennis coach at Okemos – Lansing State Journal