Today in the MHSAA: 10/11/17
October 11, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.
Today's Top 10
1. Volleyball: South Lyon won its first league title in this sport by claiming the inaugural Lakes Valley Conference championship with a sweep of Walled Lake Northern – Oakland Press
2. Boys Cross Country: LPD1 No. 6 Brighton swept Hartland and Livonia Stevenson to secure its first league title since 1995, in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Gold – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
3. Boys Soccer: Division 2 No. 17 Gibraltar Carlson claimed its first league title in this sport since 2006 and first as a member of the Downriver League with a 5-2 win over Melvindale – Southgate News Herald
4. Cross Country: Saugatuck’s LPD3 No. 2 girls clinched their 11th consecutive title and the No. 3 boys their seventh straight Southwestern Athletic Conference championship – Holland Sentinel
5. Cross Country: The White Lake Lakeland boys (No. 5 in LPD1) and Highland-Milford girls (No. 11) clinched Lakes Valley Conference championship, Lakeland handing Milford’s No. 11 boys their first league loss and Milford’s girls edging Lakeland’s by a point – Observer & Eccentric
6. Boys Soccer: Division 1 No. 4 Portage Central finished a regular-season sweep of rival Portage Northern in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference championship game – Kalamazoo Gazette
7. Volleyball: Class C honorable mention Mendon swept Marcellus to complete a perfect run on the way to the Southwestern 10 Conference title – Sturgis Journal
8. Boys Soccer: Okemos downed East Lansing to win the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup, dedicating the victory to late coach Dr. John Picone – Lansing State Journal
9. Girls Cross Country: LPD1 No. 2 Northville won its sixth straight league title, finishing ahead of Novi to clinch in the KLAA Gold – Observer & Eccentric
10. Volleyball: Niles Brandywine swept Bridgman and Watervliet and split with Kalamazoo Christian to continue its hunt for a Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference championship – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Today in the MHSAA: 1/11/16
January 11, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The first full sports weekend of 2016 included notable performances in a number of sports, highlighted by one of the top swimming and diving meets of the regular season.
Girls Basketball
Ithaca girls basketball coach Bob Anderson earned his 700th win as his team beat Carrollton 66-40; he’s coached both girls and boys teams to success over 27 seasons – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Durand handed Goodrich its first league loss in seven years while staying undefeated this season in the Genesee Area Conference Red – Flint Journal
DeWitt remained undefeated at 8-0 after handing Lansing Waverly its first loss this season in a matchup of two of the Lansing area’s top teams – Lansing State Journal
St. Joseph moved to 6-1 with a 72-35 win over Benton Harbor, a semifinalist in Class B last season – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Saranac was missing its leading scorer, but still managed to get past annual Class D power Portland St. Patrick 41-33 – Ionia Sentinel-Standard
Boys Basketball
Okemos handed Holt its first loss this season and won its first game on the Rams’ home court since 2010 – Lansing State Journal
Ice Hockey
Portage Central earned a win that could boost it into the state rankings, downing Division 1 No. 10 East Kentwood 2-1 on Saturday in Muskegon – Kalamazoo Gazette
Boys Swimming & Diving
Division 2 No. 1 Dexter scored 409 points to beat No. 4 Warren DeLaSalle by 33 at the annual Spartan Invitational at Battle Creek Lakeview, with the field also including reigning champion Birmingham Seaholm and Division 1 contender Ann Arbor Skyline – Battle Creek Enquirer
Lower Peninsula Division 1 honorable mention Grand Rapids Forest Hills defeated a field that included LPD2 No. 6 Midland Dow at the Forest Hills Invitational – Midland Daily News
Wrestling
Unranked Westland John Glenn got past Division 1 No. 9 New Baltimore Anchor Bay to win the Michigan Duals at Bay City Western over a field that also included No. 8 Western and Division 3 No. 5 Remus Chippewa Hills – Mlive-Detroit
Division 2 No. 9 Sparta won the Dave Dunneback Tournament with 247 points, ahead of Lake Odessa Lakewood, Belding and Division 3 No. 6 Grand Rapids Catholic Central – Grand Rapids Press
Football
Mike McDowell returned four seasons ago for his second stint coaching Morenci and led the program to its best finishes in nearly two decades. He recently resigned – Adrian Daily Telegram
Good Reads
Longtime coach Keith Haske remains cancer-free after fighting Stage 4 throat cancer only a year ago – and he’s added significantly to his day, becoming the girls basketball coach in addition to leading the boys program at Traverse City St. Francis. The Record-Eagle’s Brett Sommers documented a typical Haske day – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Carleton Airport senior Jessica Book is her school’s Homecoming Queen this year – and a cheerleader – and a wrestler – and plans to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps and defuse bombs – Monroe Evening News