Linked Up: 10/28/11

October 28, 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: 11/11/24

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

November 11, 2024

1. VOLLEYBALL Bay City Western came back after losing the first set to defeat Saginaw Heritage in Division 1 and clinch its first District title in this sport since the final winter season in 2007 – Bay City Times

2. GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING Allen Park clinched the outright championship in the Downriver League with a victory at the conference meet – Southgate News-Herald

3. GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING Grosse Pointe South – No. 4 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – in the Red, Fraser in the White, Clinton Township Chippewa Valley in the Blue, Utica Ford in the Gold and Warren Cousino in the Silver claimed Macomb Area Conference championship meet titles – Macomb Daily

4. GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING LPD1 No. 3 Northville cruised to the win at the Kensington Lakes Activities Association meet – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

5. VOLLEYBALL Hancock came back from two sets down to defeat Lake Linden-Hubbell in five in a Division 4 District Final – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

6. GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING LPD1 top-ranked Ann Arbor Pioneer won seven individual titles in claiming the Southeastern Conference Red meet championship – Ann Arbor News

7. GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING Traverse City Tritons claimed their fourth-straight Coastal Conference title – Traverse City Record-Eagle

8. VOLLEYBALL Honorable mention Essexville Garber downed honorable mention Freeland in four sets to earn a Division 2 District title – Bay City Times

9. VOLLEYBALL No. 6 Traverse City St. Francis claimed a Division 3 District Final sweep over No. 7 Elk Rapids – Traverse City Record-Eagle

10. GIRLS SWMMING & DIVING LPD3 No. 8 Chelsea claimed its fourth-straight SEC White championship – Chelsea Sun Times News

Also of note …

GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING LPD2 No. 6 Midland Dow claimed another Saginaw Valley League meet championship – Midland Daily News

GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING LPD1 No. 4 Rockford was first and No. 10 Grand Haven second at the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red meet – Grand Haven Tribune

GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING Bay City John Glenn clinched the championship in the Independent Swim Conference – Bay City Times

GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING LPD1 honorable mention Kalamazoo Loy Norrix won the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference meet title – Battle Creek Enquirer

GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING LPD3 honorable mention Allegan edged Sturgis to win the Southwestern & Central Conference meet – Sturgis Journal

GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING LPD3 No. 5 Hudsonville Unity Christian finished first in the O-K Lakeshore, and LPD2 No. 2 Jenison won the O-K White meet – Holland Sentinel