Did you see that? (10/29-11/4)
November 5, 2012
We had champions upon champions upon champions last week, whether they were winners of MHSAA Finals in cross country and soccer, Districts in volleyball or league champs in swimming and diving.
Girls cross country
Favorites make good: Reigning individual champions Erin Finn of West Bloomfield, Julia Bos of Grand Rapids Christian and Kirsten Olling of Breckenridge all repeated Saturday at Michigan International Speedway, with Macomb Lutheran North's Gina Patterson joining the group. Second Half talked to all four. (Division 1) (Division 2) (Division 3) (Division 4)
Boys cross country
Taking two titles: Highland Milford and Concord won both the MHSAA Lower Peninsula team championships in their respective divisions Saturday and also had the top individuals in those races. Second Half provided same-day coverage from every race. (Division 1) (Division 2) (Division 3) (Division 4)
Soccer
Headed west: A year after Detroit-area teams claimed all four MHSAA LP boys soccer championships, Grand Rapids area teams took back three. East Kentwood, Hudsonville Unity Christian and Grand Rapids South Christian won titles, while Hamtramck Freedom International kept one on the east side of the state with its first Finals win. Second Half covered them all. (Division 1) (Division 2) (Division 3) (Division 4)
Volleyball
Hang that banner: Bay City John Glenn won its first volleyball District championship in the 47-year history of the school, beating Essexville-Garber in four sets to claim a Class B title. John Glenn had to come back after dropping the first game. (Bay City Times)
Hang that banner, part II: Three Rivers also won its first volleyball District championship, downing Vicksburg in four games to claim the Class B championship. (Sturgis Journal)
Copper Kings, once again: After finding itself only two points from the District championship in 2011, and then giving up the final five to lose it, Calumet defeated rival Houghton in three games to take back the trophy after two straight Houghton wins. The Copper Kings are ranked No. 4 in Class C. (Houghton Daily Mining Gazette)
West Iron ends near-decade of dominance: Iron River West Iron County had last won a District title in 2002, before nine straight by rival Iron Mountain. But the Wykons knocked out the Mountaineers in a Semifinal and came back from match point to score the final five and beat Ironwood for a Class C championship. (Escanaba Daily News)
Swimming and Diving
Holland still rules: Coming off their first MHSAA championship in 2011, the Dutch continue to roll and piled up seven O-K Green records in winning that league championship meet. Cassie Misiewicz and Holly Morren each set two individual marks. (Holland Sentinel)
Double Dow: Midland Dow won the Saginaw Valley League championship meet with 638 points, more than double that of the runner-up. The title was Dow's seventh straight. (Midland Daily News)
Wrestling
Longtime Napoleon coach steps down: Todd Anderson announced his resignation after running the program since 1990-91. His father Don Anderson started the program in 1967. (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)
Tennis
Forman is Mr. Tennis: Troy senior Brett Forman, the MHSAA Division 1 champion at No. 1 singles as a sophomore and runner-up this fall, was named Mr. Tennis by the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association. He finished his career with a 77-8 record. (Oakland Press)
Story of the Week
Kirsten fights on: A little more than a year ago, doctors found cancerous tumors throughout Kirsten Longstreth's body, including multiple in her lungs. But the Beaverton senior had fought back to nearly knock the cancer completely out, and while continuing to play sports including volleyball this fall. (Midland Daily News)
Today in the MHSAA: 3/6/20
March 6, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The majority of Michigan’s high school boys basketball teams finished their regular seasons Thursday – and with a month’s worth of fireworks thanks to league title celebrations, big-time matchups and record scoring performances.
1. Boys Basketball: Orchard Lake St. Mary’s got past Detroit Cass Tech 70-65 in overtime in the annual Operation Friendship meeting of league champions – Detroit News
2. Boys Basketball: Negaunee earned shares of two league titles and handed Iron Mountain its only loss this season on a last-second basket, winning 52-51 – Marquette Mining Journal
3. Boys Basketball: Benton Harbor closed the regular season with an 82-72 win over Wyoming in a matchup of title contenders in Divisions 2 and 1 – Grand Rapids Press
4. Boys Basketball: Ypsilanti Lincoln enjoyed 48 points from Emoni Bates in getting past Grand Rapids Catholic Central 79-48 in a meeting of championship contenders in Divisions 1 and 2 – Ann Arbor News
5. Boys Basketball: Sanford Meridian clinched a fourth-consecutive Jack Pine Conference title with a 54-39 win over Farwell – Midland Daily News
6. Boys Basketball: Troy Athens got past Birmingham Seaholm 71-61 in overtime to claim the Oakland Activities Association Blue title outright – Oakland Press
7. Boys Basketball: Three Oaks River valley celebrated the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference White title with a 50-29 win over New Buffalo – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
8. Boys Basketball: Traverse City Central earned a shared Big North Conference title with Cadillac thanks to a 63-49 win over Alpena – Traverse City Record-Eagle
9. Boys Basketball: One-loss Carrollton handed Kingston its first, 63-59 – Saginaw News
10. Boys Basketball: Pellston downed Bellaire 57-39 to clinch a share of the Ski Valley Conference championship – Petoskey News-Review
Also of note …
Boys Basketball: Otsego won its third-straight overall Wolverine Conference title with an 81-55 win over Edwardsburg – WWMT
Boys Basketball: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart locked up the outright Mid-State Activities Conference title with a 65-37 win over Ashley – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Boys Basketball: William Dunn became Quincy’s all-time leading career scorer in his team’s 67-57 win over Mendon – Coldwater Daily Reporter
Boys Basketball: Anders Rasmussen set Holland’s single-season 3-pointers record in a loss to Ada Forest Hills Eastern – Holland Sentinel
Boys Basketball: Cole Shiels and Jacob Delmotte both broke the Britton-Deerfield single-game scoring record in a win over Monroe Jefferson – Adrian Daily Telegram