Did you see that?
June 4, 2012
Saturday annually is the busiest high school sports day on the MHSAA calendar.
The Spring Finals match began with Girls and Boys Track and Field and Girls Tennis Finals at sites all over both peninsulas. There were Regionals for both boys and girls lacrosse, which finish up this weekend. And, of course, there were Districts galore for softball, baseball and girls soccer.
Here's our sampling of some of the highlights:
Girls Track and Field
19 records fall: It was quite day across the seven MHSAA Girls Track and Field Finals, with 19 records broken, and two athletes – Reed City’s Sami Michell and Norway’s Dani Gagne – winning four individual events apiece. (Second Half)
Coast to coast: The Grosse Pointe South 3,200 relay was responsible for one of two all-Finals records, and ran a time of 8:48.29 that also surpassed the national record for that event (but may or may not stand as the national record, depending on what other times were run and will be submitted after this spring.) (Detroit Free Press)
Boys Track and Field
LP filled with first-time champs: Lake Orion in Division 1, Auburn Hills Avondale in Division 2 and Lansing Catholic in Division 3 won their first MHSAA team championships. Also, nine records fell across the state. (Second Half)
Quite a comeback: Marquette trailed Gladstone by 27 points at the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Final with four events to run. But the Redmen outscored Gladstone 42-0 over those events to win their third straight championship. (Marquette Mining Journal)
Girls Tennis
Southeast sweep: Detroit suburban schools claimed all four MHSAA Lower Peninsula team championships – Grosse Pointe South in Division 1, Birmingham Seaholm in Division 2, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood in Division 3 and Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart in Division 4. (Second Half)
Freshman reigns: Utica freshman Davina Nguyen beat both the first and second seeds on her way to claiming the individual championship at No. 1 singles in Division 1. Nguyen was seeded fifth. (Macomb Daily)
Boys lacrosse
Cranbrook comes out on top: Cranbrook-Kingswood, ranked No. 3 in Division 2, emerged from a Regional that also included No. 4 Haslett/Williamston and No. 5 East Grand Rapids, beating the latter 8-4 in the Final. (Bloomfield Patch)
Girls lacrosse
EGR plays to top ranking, again: Rivals East Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Catholic Central met in one of the multiple close Regional Finals, with the top-ranked Pioneers downing No. 2 GRCC one more time, 11-9. (Grand Rapids Press)
Baseball
It’s Holt, again: The Rams claimed their second championship in a week over rival Grand Ledge – both have been ranked in Division 1 this season. Two weeks ago, Holt split with the Comets to win the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue. Standout Justin Alleman gave up two hits and struck out 18 as Holt also won Saturday to claim a District title. (Lansing State Journal)
Softball
In the end, it’s Mattawan: The season-long battle for statewide Division 1 and Kalamazoo-area supremacy was decided in part at Saturday’s District at Portage Central. Reigning MHSAA champion Mattawan emerged as the winner from a field that included top-ranked Portage Central – which was upset by Kalamazoo Loy Norrix in a semifinal. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Soccer
AAGR moves on: Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, No. 8 in Division 3, shut out No. 7 Jackson Lumen Christi 3-0 in the Division 3 District final at Brooklyn Columbia Central (AnnArbor.com)
Today in the MHSAA: 1/8/20
January 8, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Tuesday’s statewide basketball slate had just about everything, from matchups between championship contenders to historic wins, record breakers and buzzer beaters.
1. Girls Basketball: Detroit Edison downed East Lansing 56-39 in a matchup of championship contenders in Divisions 2 and 1, respectively – Detroit News
2. Girls Basketball: Farmington Hills Mercy’s fourth-quarter run gave it a 46-34 win over Bloomfield Hills Marian in a matchup of Catholic League Central rivals that both entered unbeaten – Observer & Eccentric
3. Boys Basketball: Escanaba earned its first win over Marquette since 2010, 63-56 – Escanaba Daily Press
4. Boys Basketball: Warren De La Salle Collegiate edged Eastpointe 64-61 in a matchup of the Nos. 1 and 2-ranked teams, respectively, in Monday’s Division 1 MPR posting – Macomb Daily
5. Girls Basketball: Pittsford held on to move to 8-0 with a 43-40 win over Reading – Hillsdale Daily News
6. Girls Basketball: Martin’s 52-19 win over West Michigan Aviation Academy gave the Clippers their best start at 7-0 since 1997 – FOX 17
7. Boys Basketball: Pellston’s Blake Cassidy has been one of the state’s top scorers this winter, and he put up a career-high 45 points in Tuesday’s 65-58 win over Johannesburg-Lewiston – Petoskey News-Review
8. Girls Basketball: White Pigeon’s Claycee West broke her school scoring record with 41 points in a 58-39 win over Marcellus – JoeInsider.com
9. Boys Basketball: Ferndale came back to hand North Farmington its first defeat of the season, 52-48 – MLive-Detroit
10. Boys Basketball: Onsted handed Blissfield its first loss 55-53 on a buzzer beater by Cooper Lake – Adrian Daily Telegram
Also of note …
Football: Cassopolis coach Dan Purlee has resigned after eight seasons leading the program to a 70-22 record and two MHSAA Semifinals – South Bend Tribune