Linked Up: 12/19/11
December 20, 2011
We've hit a bit of a slow spot with schools out for break and most contests reserved for holiday showcases and the like.
Here are some suggestions if you have some time for some reading between now and the start of 2012.
High school coaches try to bring basketball back to basics (Detroit News)
For most of the last decade, we've heard about the recessing of basketball fundamentals even among elite high school players. Enter Ben Kelso, Marshall Thomas and a number of other Michigan coaches who have pledged to end that trend. Tom Markowski tells us how the Metro Detroit Basketball Coaches Association aims to do so.
Lantzy retires after more than 4 decades as Ike grid coach (Macomb County Advisor & Source)
Utica-Eisenhower coach Bob Lantzy has been his school's only varsity football coach. He took four teams to MHSAA Finals and this fall became one of only nine state football coaches to win more than 900 games. He has retired after 41 seasons, and Kevin Lozon fills us in on the legacy.
Tabahn Afrik poised for greatness in pool for West Ottawa (Holland Sentinel)
The Holland area has its next big swimming star. Dan D'Addona introduces us to Tabahn Afrik, a freshman at Holland West Ottawa who qualified for the MHSAA Division 1 Finals in two events in his first meet this season.
High school basketball: History of class hoops is just that (South Bend Tribune)
"Hoosiers" made Indiana's former one-class basketball tournament known on a grander scale. But Indiana went to classes (similar to Michigan's) beginning in 1997-98. Al Lesar tells us how some in the state are attempting to revert to one class.
Today in the MHSAA: 12/10/18
December 10, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.
This weekend was filled with record-setting scoring on the basketball court, milestone points and titanic early-season victories as some of the state’s best met in hoops, wrestling and hockey.
1. Wrestling: No. 3 Brighton downed No. 2 Davison 34-23 in a matchup of top teams in Division 1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
2. Girls Basketball: Reigning Class A champion Saginaw Heritage held on for a 45-43 win over Southfield Arts & Technology at the Arbor Prep Invitational – Saginaw News
3. Girls Basketball: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart won big over Coleman as Scout Nelson scored her 1,000th career point – MI Sports Now
4. Wrestling: Division 2 No. 9 Tecumseh downed No. 10 New Boston Huron in the final to win the Brooklyn Columbia Central Team Tournament title – Adrian Daily Telegram
5. Hockey: Division 1 No. 4 Salem followed its Thursday win over Division 2 No. 7 Howell with a 4-0 victory over Division 3 No. 11 Livonia Churchill – Observer & Eccentric
6. Girls Basketball: Comstock’s Daisy Ansel broke her school’s 27-year-old scoring record with 45 points in a big win over Buchanan – Kalamazoo Gazette
7. Bowling: Quincy’s boys entered bracket play as the eighth seed and downed the first on the way to winning the Cascades Clash Baker Tournament – Coldwater Daily Reporter
8. Girls Basketball: Taylor Folkema tied her school’s record with 39 points in Muskegon Western Michigan Christian’s big win over Muskegon Catholic Central – Local Sports Journal
9. Wrestling: Seven individual champions led Petoskey to the team title at the Owosso Invitational – Petoskey News-Review
10. Wrestling: Ishpeming Westwood won its Super Duals finishing 5-0 on the day – Marquette Mining Journal
Also of note …
Cross Country: Longtime Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart coach Mark Zitzelsberger announced his retirement; he led the Irish to six MHSAA titles including the girls team to the last four in Lower Peninsula Division 4 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Wrestling: Lake City earned its first invitational team title as a program, claiming first at Manton – Cadillac News
Girls Basketball: Shepherd edged Birch Run 41-40, but Panthers junior Sarah Miller reached 1,000 points for her career – Saginaw News
Boys Basketball: From Tuesday, Bryce Hallman scored a school-record 44 points as Howard City Tri-County won its first game in nearly two calendar years, over White Cloud – Greenville Daily News