Today in the MHSAA: 10/15/15
October 15, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Championship are won on a seemingly daily basis in October, and plenty were earned and celebrated Wednesday – but please also check out some great reads at the bottom of this list, including a look at why specialization is increasing as a nationwide concern.
Cross Country
The Saugatuck girls, ranked No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 4, won their ninth straight Southwestern Athletic Conference title with 12 runners earning all-league honors – Grand Rapids Press
Boys Soccer
LP Division 2 No. 5 East Lansing capped an impressive run through the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup by winning the final 3-1 over Grand Ledge – Lansing State Journal
LP Division 1 No. 15 East Kentwood secured its 12th Ottawa-Kent Conference Red title in 13 seasons with a 1-0 win over Grandville, helped in part by a pair of players whose ties the program go back to the early years of the run – Grand Rapids Press
LP Division 1 No. 7 Utica Ford shut out No. 14 Fraser to clinch the Macomb Area Conference Red championship – Macomb Daily
Unranked Birmingham Brother Rice stunned LP Division 1 No. 3 Detroit Catholic Central 2-1 in the championship game of the Detroit Catholic League A-B tournament – Oakland Press
LP Division 4 No. 11 Charlevoix clinched a share of the Lake Michigan Conference title with a 3-0 win over Grayling, thanks to a hat trick by Walker Drost – Charlevoix Courier
Saginaw Heritage scored the first goal Flint Powers Catholic had given up since Sept. 12, but the Chargers emerged with a 2-1 win and the overall Saginaw Valley League championship – Flint Journal
Volleyball
Lansing Catholic won the first volleyball league championship in its long history, beating Fowlerville in three sets to claim a share of the CAAC White title – Lansing State Journal
Good Reads
Single-sport specialization has become a topic of national focus and concern, and MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts was among association directors talked to for this report on why it’s a health-related issue and how states are working to promote multi-sport participation instead – NFHS.org
Vandercook Lake is enjoying its best football season in 45 years and plays for a league title this weekend, and is led by a three-sport athlete who has been on a long road back after Crohn’s disease led to his shedding 90 pounds only two years ago – Jackson Citizen-Patriot
The Christmas tree standing tall in front of the Capitol in Lansing this winter will come from Wakefield thanks to a donation by Florence Daniels in honor of her husband Jim, who coached Wakefield High's boys basketball team to 355 wins, 12 district the five regional titles in 28 seasons. He also was a member of Channing High’s Upper Peninsula championship team in 1944 and coached Al Inkala, who went on to become an MHSAA championship-winning girls tennis coach at Okemos – Lansing State Journal
Today in the MHSAA: 2/25/19
February 25, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A busy weekend across Michigan included Team Wrestling Finals (see coverage under “Latest Posts”), plus Bowling Regionals, Competitive Cheer Regionals, league swimming & diving meets and much more.
1. Bowling: The No. 4 Napoleon boys finished ahead of runner-up and top-ranked Bronson to win a Division 4 Regional, while the top-ranked Vandercook Lake girls claimed their Regional title – Coldwater Daily Reporter
2. Competitive Cheer: Annual powers Allen Park and Gibraltar Carlson finished first and second, respectively, separated by less than a point at their Division 2 Regional – Southgate News-Herald
3. Boys Swimming & Diving: Holland West Ottawa, top-ranked in Lower Peninsula Division 1, finished a sixth straight championship run in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red, winning the league meet ahead of No. 7 Hudsonville – Holland Sentinel
4. Competitive Cheer: Rochester Hills Stoney Creek won one of the strongest Regionals regardless of division, finishing ahead of qualifiers Adams, Utica Eisenhower and Sterling Heights Stevenson in Division 1 – Southgate News-Herald
5. Girls Basketball: Coldwater clinched its first league title since 1992 with a big win over Jackson Lumen Christi in the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference – Coldwater Daily Reporter
6. Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD1 No. 2 Ann Arbor Pioneer got past runner-up and No. 4-ranked Ann Arbor Skyline to win the Southeastern Conference Red meet – We Love Ann Arbor
7. Bowling: The top-ranked Sturgis boys repeated as Division 2 Regional champs, ahead of No. 4 Coldwater and No. 7 Battle Creek Pennfield, while Pennfield’s No. 2-ranked girls won ahead of No. 5 Coldwater – Sturgis Journal
8. Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD1 honorable mention Zeeland clinched the outright O-K Green championship after sharing it with current LPD3 No. 1 Holland Christian a year ago – Holland Sentinel
9. Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD2 honorable mention Gibraltar Carlson edged LPD3 No. 10 Trenton to win the Downriver League meet – Southgate News-Herald
10. Bowling: Cheboygan’s girls finished ahead of runner-up and No. 6 Gladwin to repeat as Division 3 Regional champions, while Gladwin’s No. 5 boys finished first ahead of Cheboygan’s – Cheboygan News
Also of note …
Girls Basketball: East Kentwood claimed a share of the O-K Red title with a 58-42 win over Grand Haven – FOX 17
Boys Swimming & Diving: Ludington dominated in claiming its third straight Coastal Conference championship with a win at the league meet – Ludington Daily News
Boys Swimming & Diving: Corunna won the Independent Swim Conference meet to repeat as league champion – Owosso Argus-Press
Girls Basketball: Gobles claimed the Southwestern Athletic Conference Lakeshore championship with a 45-26 win over Martin – FOX 17
Hockey: Division 1 No. 12 Utica Eisenhower locked up the Macomb Area Conference Red title with an 8-3 win over New Baltimore Anchor Bay – Macomb Daily
Girls Basketball: Scout Nelson scored 21 points against Blanchard Montabella to become Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart’s all-time leading scorer – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Girls Basketball: Three Rivers’ Hadley Miller went over 1,000 career points in a 57-42 win over Vicksburg – Sturgis Journal
Boys Basketball: Alma clinched a share of the Tri-Valley Conference Central title with Freeland and Saginaw Swan Valley – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Girls Basketball: Bear Lake clinched a share of the West Michigan D League title with a big win over Big Rapids Crossroads – Manistee News Advocate
Girls Basketball: Charlevoix clinched a share of the Lake Michigan Conference title with a 53-31 win over Grayling – Petoskey News-Review
Girls Basketball: Mackinaw City claimed the Northern Lakes Conference title outright with a big win over Alba – Cheboygan News
Boys Swimming & Diving: New Baltimore Anchor Bay won the MAC White meet – Macomb Daily
Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD2 honorable mention St. Clair Shores Lakeview was the champ at the MAC Blue meet – Macomb Daily
Boys Basketball: Kingston earned a share of the North Central Thumb League Stars title, with Flint International Academy, thanks to a one-point win over Dryden – WNEM
Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD3 No. 7 Marshall repeated as champion at the Southwestern & Central Conference meet – Battle Creek Enquirer