Linked Up: 10/28/11

December 13, 2011

Each week I'll post links to stories that interest me most during my travels in online sports land. I was going to wait for next week for this first installment, but these seemed worthy of telling you about now.

See something high school sports-related that you think others would find valuable? Send me a link.

Akron-Fairgrove and Owendale-Gagetown eager for long-awaited playoff games in first season of eight-man football bracket (Bay City Times)

These two teams provide multiple reasons why 8-player football has been such a strong addition -- most notably, it is providing our smallest schools with an opportunity to still play football despite fewer players, and succeed. The sport took off in this state in 2009, and this weekend mark the start of the first MHSAA 8-player Tournament. Akron-Fairgrove will play its first postseason game since 1992, while Owendale-Gagetown will play its first since 1979.

Olivet's Peters coaching his heart out (Battle Creek Enquirer)

I covered Olivet and coach Dean Peters for more than a decade, including during last season's first-ever Eagles run to the MHSAA football finals. One of the great people in high school coaching, he needed emergency double-bypass surgery earlier this month but is back in the coaching booth. Olivet faces Lansing Catholic in a Pre-District game.

Megan Hubbard a standout for Hanover-Horton cross country (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)

This is a neat story about a runner who is second-best on her team and has never won a race -- but also is likely the second-best to ever run at her school. Usually, we hear only about who finishes first.

Standley Lake football player Rhett Gutierrez overcomes eye disease (The Denver Post)
 
Almost always, links I post will be Michigan-related. But this story is just incredible. We've seen athletes with different degrees of vision impairment do incredible things in high school athletics. But this is the first time I've heard of someone overcoming that obstacle to play quarterback for his football team.

Today in the MHSAA: 2/26/24

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

February 26, 2024

1. WRESTLING All four 2023 champions – Detroit Catholic Central, Lowell, Dundee and Hudson – repeated at the weekend’s 2024 Team Wrestling Finals – MHSAA.com

2. COMPETITIVE CHEER Rochester Hills Stoney Creek edged Adams by less than a point to win their Division 1 Regional – Oakland Press

3. COMPETITIVE CHEER Allen Park outpaced Gibraltar Carlson by just more than two points to win their Division 2 Regional – Southgate News-Herald

4. BOYS SWIMMNG & DIVING Lower Peninsula Division 1 top-ranked Ann Arbor Pioneer held on against No. 2 Saline to win the Southeastern Conference Red championship – Saline Post

5. HOCKEY No. 9 Flint Powers Catholic advanced to a Division 3 Regional Final with a 4-3 triple-overtime win over No. 8 Jackson Lumen Christi – WJRT

6. BOWLING Macomb Dakota swept girls and boys Regional team championships; Dakota’s girls are ranked No. 2 in Division 1, and the boys are No. 4 – Macomb Daily Girls | Boys

7. BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING Bay City John Glenn won the Independent Swim Conference title, ending Essexville Garber’s championship streak at three – Bay City Times

8. BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING Midland Dow held off Grand Blanc to win the Saginaw Valley League title; they are honorable mentions in LPD2 and LPD1, respectively – Midland Daily News

9. BOWLING Zeeland’s Rylee Smith clinched her Division 1 Regional singles title with a 300 in her final game – Holland Sentinel

10. BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING Owosso finished a season sweep of the Flint Metro League – Owosso Argus-Press

Also of note …

GIRLS BASKETBALL Bark River-Harris downed Munising 52-31 to clinch the Skyline Central Conference Large schools title – Escanaba Daily Press

GIRLS BASKETBALL Hart clinched a third-straight league title outright by downing Holton in the West Michigan Conference Rivers – Ludington Daily News

BOYS BASKETBALL Parker LePla reached 1,000 career points in Goodrich’s 57-52 win over Lake Fenton in the Flint Metro League Tournament final – Mid-Michigan Now