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: 2/12/20

February 12, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Tuesday saw a mix of personal milestones with record book implications and massive hoops matchups that continued to shift league standings with only a few weeks remaining in this regular season.

1. Boys Basketball: Wyoming’s Menalito McGee and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern’s Ethan Erickson earned spots in the MHSAA record book for single-game 3-pointers in their teams’ Tuesday victories – Grand Rapids Press

2. Boys Basketball: Erie Mason’s Joe Liedel scored 37 points in a 63-38 win over Brooklyn Columbia Central to set the Monroe County Region career scoring record at 1,951 – Monroe News

3. Girls Basketball: Saginaw Heritage shook up the Saginaw Valley League standings with a 56-39 win over formerly first-place Midland – Midland Daily News

4. Boys Swimming & Diving: Collin Che set Midland Dow school and pool records in the 100-yard butterfly in his team’s 138-42 win over Midland; Dow is ranked No. 3 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – Midland Daily News

5. Boys Basketball: Detroit Douglass advanced to the Detroit Public School League Tournament final with a 76-46 win over Detroit Martin Luther King – Detroit News

6. Girls Basketball: Williamston earned a major win on a buzzer beater, 37-35 over DeWitt – Lansing State Journal

7. Girls Basketball: Trenton moved into first place alone in the Downriver League with a 44-37 overtime win over Lincoln Park – Southgate News-Herald

8. Boys Basketball: Hopkins moved into first place alone in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Silver with a 66-60 win over Grandville Calvin Christian – FOX 17

9. Girls Basketball: Walled Lake Western held on to first place alone in the Lakes Valley Conference with a 44-37 win over Waterford Mott – State Champs Sports Network

10. Boys Basketball: A last-second put-back gave Posen a 47-46 win over previously one-loss Hale – Alpena News

Also of note …

Girls Basketball: Freeland’s Kadyn Blanchard went over 1,000 career points in her team’s 56-32 win over Alma – Saginaw News

Boys Basketball: Fowlerville junior Brendan Young went over 1,000 career points with 33 (plus 20 rebounds) in a 74-62 win over Lansing Sexton – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Boys Basketball: Brendan Busch scored 56 points in Hillsdale Will Carleton’s 73-19 win over Jackson Prep, giving his team 56-point games by two players over a week – Hillsdale Daily News

Softball: After seven seasons away, Adrian Lenawee Christian will bring back the sport this spring – Adrian Daily Telegram

Bowling: From Saturday, the Howard City Tri County girls team locked up its first Central State Activities Association title – Greenville Daily News