Today in the MHSAA: 9/9/15
September 9, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The first day of school for most in Michigan brought with it a flood of notable matchups and results, many of which we’ve touched on below.
Boys Soccer
East Grand Rapids, No. 11 in Division 2, topped Division 1 No. 4 East Kentwood 1-0 in a matchup of two of the best in the Grand Rapids area – Grand Rapids Press
Walled Lake Central handed Waterford Mott the latter's first loss this season, scoring with 26:24 to play – Oakland Press
North Muskegon, ranked in Division 4, needed overtime to outlast Ravenna 3-2 – Muskegon Chronicle
Girls Swimming & Diving
Saginaw Heritage beat Midland Dow for the first time since 2010 with first places in 10 events – Saginaw News
Holland West Ottawa, No. 4 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, beat No. 6 Zeeland by a mere 16 points, with Jacklyn Vande Poel earning a Finals cut time in the 100-yard freestyle – Holland Sentinel
Volleyball
Mattawan claimed the championship over a strong field at Portage Central’s six-team tournament, besting previously-undefeated Battle Creek Harper Creek in the final – Kalamazoo Gazette
It’s hard to imagine a closer four-set match than Houghton’s win over Lake Linden-Hubbell 25-23, 25-23, 23-25, 25-22 – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
Midland Dow’s Nadia Atton had an impressive 23 kills to lead the Chargers past Mount Pleasant in four sets – Midland Daily News
Today in the MHSAA: 10/16/15
October 16, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
First-time champions are always worth noting, and we found a few in checking out today’s media reports of Thursday action statewide.
Cross Country
The Calumet girls, ranked No. 4 in Upper Peninsula Division 1, and the unranked Houghton boys won the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference finals at Chassell – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
Boys Soccer
Grand Rapids Union clinched its first league title since moving from the Grand Rapids City League to the Ottawa-Kent Conference, downing Muskegon 3-0 – Grand Rapids Press
Manchester edged Hillsdale Academy 2-1 to claim its first Independent Soccer League championship after winning only one league game in 2014 – Jackson Citizen-Patriot
Volleyball
Class B honorable mention Buchanan downed Class C’s top-ranked team, Bronson, in five sets, and also Class D No. 6 Mendon in five – Niles Daily Star
Class B No. 6 Mount Morris avenged a five-set loss to No. 5 Goodrich in September by sweeping the Martians to improve to 55-5-1 – Flint Journal
Zeeland West claimed its first conference title in this sport, defeating Holland Christian in five sets to claim a share of the O-K Green championship – Holland Sentinel
Good Reads
Longtime Burton Atherton leader Mary Down will become the third volleyball coach inducted into the Greater Flint Area Hall of Fame, having impacted a generation of players and more as a number of former players went on to coach as well – Flint Journal