Check out the second installment of my look at how area sports compare with each other when it comes to competing at the statewide level, heading into 2011-12. Sports 21-28 will be posted Thursday.
(Team state championships since 2000-01 in parentheses).
11. Girls lacrosse (2) -- This is mostly an Okemos phenomenon, with the Chieftains going undefeated with two straight state titles in 2009 and 2010. Waverly/Lansing Catholic/Grand Ledge also has made some impression at the statewide level.
12. Competitive cheer (5) -- Pewamo-Westphalia and Ovid-Elsie are dominant programs regularly among the state's best in their respective divisions. But DeWitt, Haslett, Mason, Ithaca and Laingsburg also have pushed toward the elite, and Lakewood is headed there too.
13. Boys soccer (3) -- Add in three more runner-up finishes since 2000, and that all three titles came in either Division 1 or 2, and mid-Michigan can do a little flexing. East Lansing, Okemos, Mason, Holt and DeWitt are regularly among the state-ranked.
14. Football (2) -- This is a tough one. Although Ithaca's state title last fall was the area's first since 2000, mid-Michigan has had 11 runners-up during that time. So it appears area teams are right there ... but need to show more when it counts, especially against state powers from the Grand Rapids area.
15. Girls golf (3) -- Lansing Catholic's performance at last year's Division 4 tournament was one of the state's most dominant of all-time, and DeWitt has multiple titles and a Miss Golf in Liz Nagel.
16. Girls bowling (2) -- Mid-Michigan needed five seasons to win its first bowling state title, but now has one each of the last two years (Holt in 2010 and Charlotte in 2011) plus two more state runners-up in 2010.
17. Softball (2) -- Although times have been tough deeper in the state tournament, names like Chelsea Sundberg, Rachel Turney and going all the way back to Jessica Beech still earn mid-Michigan some statewide respect.
18. Girls soccer (1) -- Okemos owns that lone state title, won in 2006. But runner-up finishes by Williamston twice and Lansing Christian over the last four seasons have helped put mid-Michigan a little bigger on the map.
19. Baseball (0) -- Mid-Michigan frequently advances multiple teams to the quarterfinals, and on occasion to the semis. But only two have appeared in a state final if 2000 also is included. Grand Ledge is the area's elite team, but plays in the state's toughest regional on a near-annual basis.
20. Boys swimming and diving (3) -- All three state titles and the lone runner-up finish belong to Alma, which regularly has enough talent to claim individual and relay finishes needed to score big among the state's smaller schools. Mid-Michigan frequently has an individual standout though who can compete with the best, like St. Johns' Cody Stinnett, Alma's John Frutiger or Zach Wood and DeWitt's Jason Fish in recent memory.
High school sports editor 
