Today in the MHSAA: 10/10/16

October 10, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Arguably the most high-profile regular-season events in cross country and girls swimming & diving took place this weekend, with the forecasts looking good for MHSAA championship contenders who were highly ranked coming in.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Cross Country

The Portage Invitational annually brings many of the top teams in Michigan together for something of a barometer for the MHSAA Finals; champions Saturday included the Lower Peninsula No. 4 Bear Lake/Onekama boys and the top-ranked Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart girls in Division 4, the No. 1-ranked Saugatuck boys and No. 2 Lansing Catholic girls in Division 3, No. 3 Fremont boys and No. 3 East Grand Rapids girls in Division 2 and the LaGrange Lyons, Ill. boys (runner-up and No. 1 Saline was the top in-state boys team) and No. 3 Ann Arbor Pioneer girls in Division 1 – Athletic.net

The LPD1 top-ranked Birmingham Seaholm girls won a sixth straight Oakland County championship, while the No. 2 Novi boys also repeated – Oakland Press

Girls Swimming & Diving

The annual Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association Meet also draws many of the state’s top competitors each fall. Multi-winners this weekend included Saline sophomore Maddie Luther (200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke) and Saline junior Lizzy Spears (200 individual medley, 500 freestyle) as their team also won two relays and received the top place in diving from Camryn McPherson; the Hornets are ranked No. 3 in LP Division 1 – MISCAonline.net

Volleyball

Marquette swept Ishpeming in two sets to win the Northern Michigan University High School Invitational – Marquette Mining Journal

Lake Linden-Hubbell improved to 17-6-4 with a championship at the Michigan-Wisconsin Invitational played at Ironwood and Hurley, Wis. – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Class A honorable mention Grand Haven downed Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Class B honorable mention Whitehall, Holland West Ottawa, Kalamazoo Central and Muskegon Mona Shores to the wins the Sailors’ invitational – Grand Haven Tribune

Adrian Madison downed Class D No. 7 Pittsford, Hopkins, Reading, White Pigeon, Camden-Frontier and Constantine to win the Homer Invitational – Adrian Daily Telegram

Today in the MHSAA: 1/4/16

January 4, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

We’re back to start 2016, but many of Michigan’s high school teams took only short breaks during the holidays; below is a roundup of some of the most recent notable news coverage as we kick off the new calendar year.

Boys Basketball

Jauron Vicks scored five points in overtime and 24 total to lead Warren Woods-Tower to a 56-52 overtime win over Macomb L’Anse Creuse North in the Crusader Classic final – Macomb Daily

Niles Brandywine remained undefeated and dealt White Pigeon its first loss, 51-46 in the final of the Sturgis Basketball Classic – Sturgis Journal

Muskegon also remained undefeated while handing the first loss of the season to East Kentwood at the Muskegon Hall of Fame Classic (Muskegon suffered its first loss this weekend, to Chicago Whitney Young) – Muskegon Chronicle

Hudsonville beat Grand Rapids Christian 68-55 in the final of the Cornerstone Invitational to add to a start that included a win over reigning Class B champion Wyoming Godwin Heights – Grand Rapids Press

Girls Basketball

Kysre Gondrezick tied for 15th in MHSAA history with 51 points for Benton Harbor in the final of the Lou Harvey Classic despite her team’s eventual 68-63 loss to Michigan City Marquette – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

In arguably the most significant game of the Motor City Roundball Classic, both girls and boys, Saginaw Heritage downed Detroit Country day 39-29 – Oakland Press

Wrestling

Lowell finished first ahead of a field featuring many of Michigan’s elite at the Detroit Catholic Central Invitational; Brighton was second and Macomb Dakota finished third – Oakland Press

Battle Creek Lakeview won its eighth straight all-city championship, downing local rivals Battle Creek Central, Harper Creek and Pennfield – Battle Creek Enquirer

Tyler Deming became only the sixth four-time champion during the 52 years of the Freeland Wrestling Invitational in leading Caro to the team title as well – Saginaw News

Petoskey’s Scott Kibbe earned his 100th win in leading his team to the Bridge Brawl championship at Rudyard – Petoskey News

Football

Longtime Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart football coach Rick Roberts retired from that post after 23 seasons leading the Irish and 35 total at four schools; he finished with a record of 202-146-1 and also is the Sacred Heart athletic director – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun