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: 9/22/15

September 22, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Check out these close calls in golf and soccer and milestone finishes in tennis that highlighted Monday’s action from across the state.

Girls Golf

Bay City Western won the closest Bay County Girls Golf Championship in the event's 20-year history, scoring 423 to edge reigning champion Bay City Central by a stroke – Bay City Times

Boys Soccer

Two of the top teams in Division 1 faced off in Macomb Area Conference Red play, with No. 4 Utica Eisenhower downing No. 8 Fraser – Macomb Daily

Lapeer’s Eric McGeary scored the winning goal on his team’s Senior Night for the second straight year, this time to down Saginaw Heritage – Flint Journal

Division 2 No. 2 Holland Christian and reigning Division 3 champion Hudsonville Unity Christian tied 1-1 in a meeting of Ottawa-Kent Conference Green contenders; they play each other again Oct. 7 – Grand Rapids Press

Boys Tennis

Parma Western, No. 10 in Lower Peninsula Division 3, downed Jackson Lumen Christi for the first time in nearly a decade  – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Top-ranked LP Division 2 Portage Central (see today’s 2H feature) won all eight flights to sweep the Greater Kalamazoo Tournament, and didn’t give up a set – Kalamazoo Gazette

Whitehall, No. 5 in LP Division 4, moved to 4-0 in the Coastal Conference with a shutout of Fruitport – Muskegon Chronicle

Division 2 No. 7 Birmingham Groves stayed a step ahead of rival and No. 8 Seaholm in Oakland Activities Association Red action – Observer & Eccentric

Volleyball

Cadillac, No. 3 in Class B, took a step toward unseating Class A honorable mention Traverse City West atop the Big North Conference standings with a three-set win Monday – Cadillac News

From Saturday, Class D honorable mention Crystal Falls Forest Park downed also-honorable mention Stephenson in the final of the Trojans’ tournament – Iron Mountain Daily News