Today in the MHSAA: 8/24/15

August 24, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

All MHSAA fall sports but football kicked off competition last week, with cross country, boys soccer, girls swimming and diving and volleyball starting Saturday.

Below are some notable headlines from the first weekend of this season, plus links to coverage.

Cross Country

St. Johns hosted its second “Under the Lights” meets Friday; Ithaca’s girls and Saugatuck’s boys bested fields loaded with much larger opponents – Lansing State Journal

The St. Joseph girls and Bridgman boys won championships at the Niles Stampede – the St. Joseph girls, who finished fourth in Lower Peninsula Division 2 last season, by a large margin – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Girls Golf

Maple City Glen Lake’s Nichole Cox, last season’s LP Division 4 individual champion, came back to defeat Brighton freshman Annie Pietila at the two-day Lober Invitational at Grand Traverse Resort – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Boys Soccer

Two of the state’s powers met in the championship game of the Detroit Country Day Tournament on Saturday – with 2013 Division 1 runner-up Bloomfield Hills downing the host Yellowjackets 1-0 in a shootout – Oakland Press

Girls Swimming & Diving

Howell won its Kenzie Klassic, which honors swimmer Mackenize Watts, who died in 2005 at age 15. The school also raised enough money to award three scholarships and begin funding cardiac-related causes – Livingston Daily

Volleyball

Novi won the Lakeshore Classic by coming back after losing the first two games to beat Grand Haven 3-2 in a rematch of a 2014 Class A Semifinal – Muskegon Chronicle

Battle Creek Harper Creek, for the first time, won the gold championship at the long-running Carrie Adams Memorial Tournament hosted by reigning Class D champion Battle Creek St. Philip – Battle Creek Enquirer

Good Read

Mike Steele, a Midland Dow grad and now pitching coach at Long Beach State in California, argues that parents need to raise their athletes to compete instead of providing specific training in one sport – Midland Daily News

Today in the MHSAA: 6/12/24

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

June 12, 2024

1. SOFTBALL Gretchen Weiland no-hit No. 9 Hancock over six innings of a 12-0 Division 4 Quarterfinal victory for No. 7 Hillman – Alpena News

2. SOFTBALL Megan Beemer hit three home runs to lead No. 2 Hudsonville past honorable mention Midland in Division 1 4-3 – Grand Rapids Press

3. SOFTBALL Top-ranked Unionville-Sebewaing will play for a fifth-straight Division 4 title after a 2-0 Quarterfinal win over No. 4 Plymouth Christian Academy – Huron Daily Tribune

4. SOFTBALL Kaitlyn Pallozzi struck out 19 as top-ranked Farmington Hills Mercy downed No. 7 Allen Park 3-0 in Division 1 – Detroit News

5. GIRLS SOCCER No. 6 Kalamazoo Christian downed No. 7 Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian 2-1 in a Division 4 Semifinal – WWMT

6. SOFTBALL No. 4 Vicksburg is headed back to the Division 2 Semifinals thanks to a 7-1 win over No. 2 Hudsonville Unity Christian – Kalamazoo Gazette

7. SOFTBALL Rylee Limberger’s homer sent No. 10 Lake Orion past White Lake Lakeland 9-7 in Division 1 – Oakland Press

8. SOFTBALL No. 3 South Lyon will return to the Division 1 Semifinals thanks to a 6-0 win over honorable mention Hartland – Hometown Life

9. SOFTBALL No. 8 Clare advanced in Division 3 with a 5-0 win over honorable mention New Lothrop – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

10. SOFTBALL No. 3 Buchanan also moved on in Division 3 with a 3-1 win over No. 5 Ravenna – Niles Daily Star

Also of note …

GIRLS SOCCER No. 6 Rochester Adams edged Salem 2-1 to advance to the Division 1 Final – Oakland Press

SOFTBALL No. 5 Holton is headed to the Division 4 Semifinals after a 12-9 win over No. 8 Beal City – CatchMark SportsNet

GIRLS SOCCER Jackson Lumen Christi advanced in Division 4 with a 3-1 win over No. 8 Auburn Hills Oakland Christian – Jackson Citizen Patriot

GIRLS SOCCER No. 11 Hartland earned a trip to East Lansing in Division 1 with a 2-1 Semifinal win over Grand Haven – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

SOFTBALL North Branch got off to a fast start in an 8-1 Division 1 Quarterfinal win over St. Clair – WJRT

SOFTBALL No. 4 Evart moved on in Division 3 with a 9-0 win over honorable mention Gladstone – Cadillac News

SOFTBALL Last season’s Division 4 runner-up and current No. 3 Mendon will play to reach the Final again after a 12-0 win over Dansville – Sturgis Journal

SOFTBALL Reigning champion and top-ranked Gaylord advanced in Division 2 with an 18-1 win over honorable mention Muskegon Oakridge – Petoskey News-Review

SOFTBALL Milan in Division 2 and Ottawa Lake Whiteford in Division 3 earned Semifinal berths; they are honorable mentions in their respective divisions – Monroe News