Today in the MHSAA: 10/13/16

October 13, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Melvindale won its first boys soccer league title ever Wednesday night and Saline won its first volleyball title in what’s believed to be “a long time,” highlighting action from across the state.

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

From Wednesday, Marquette’s top-ranked girls won their 17th straight Great Northern Conference championship, while the boys, No. 3 in Upper Peninsula Division 1, won their fourth straight league title – Escanaba Daily Press

Boys Soccer

Melvindale clinched its first boys soccer league championship, taking the Downriver League title with a 2-1 win over Brownstown Woodhaven, which entered the night tied for first – Southgate News-Herald

Division 1 No. 11 Detroit Catholic Central claimed the Detroit Catholic League A-B championship with a 4-2 win over Division 2 No. 7 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood – Oakland Press

Division 1 No. 17 East Kentwood downed No. 16 Grand Haven 2-0 – Grand Haven Tribune

St. Clair downed Marysville 1-0 to avenge last month’s loss to the rival Vikings – Port Huron Times Herald

Volleyball

Reigning Class C champion Bronson, ranked No. 2 this fall, continued another strong run with sweeps of Parchment and Class B No. 3 Buchanan, while Buchanan beat Class D No. 2 Mendon and Mendon swept Parchment – Sturgis Journal

Class A No. 8 Saline clinched a long-awaited Southeastern Conference Red championship with a four-set win over Monroe, moving to 30-4 overall – Saline Post

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