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: 2/16/17

February 16, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

An action-packed Wednesday saw the final 32 wrestling contenders advance with Regional titles, including DeWitt for the first time and Hartland for the 16th straight.

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. 

Girls Basketball

The Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan has released its five finalists for this season’s Miss Basketball Award – Detroit Free Press

Boys Basketball

In a matchup of teams both now 12-3, Negaunee emerged as overtime winner over Gladstone 75-71 – Marquette Mining Journal

Bowling

Fruitport’s girls and Muskegon Mona Shores’ boys won Greater Muskegon Athletic Association championships – Muskegon Chronicle

Hockey

Chelsea downed Ann Arbor Skyline 5-4 to clinch its 10th straight Southeastern Conference title – Ann Arbor News

Hartland, ranked No. 2 in Division 2, added a win over Division 1 No. 2 Detroit Catholic Central 4-2 and has beaten all three of the top-ranked teams in Division 1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Skiing

The East Grand Rapids boys and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central girls won Division 2 Regional titles as both Cadillac teams also advanced – Cadillac News

Wrestling

Caro came back from a 24-point deficit in its Division 3 Regional Semifinal against Beaverton and went on to defeat the Beavers and Ogemaw Heights and win the title – Saginaw News

Division 2 No. 7 DeWitt won its first Regional title in wrestling, avenging an earlier loss to No. 10 Mason with a 48-17 win – Lansing State Journal

Division 1 No. 5 and reigning MHSAA champion Hartland earned a trip to the Quarterfinals for the 16th straight season, downing No. 8 Walled Lake Central and Warren Mott after losing to Central earlier this winter – Detroit Free Press

No. 3 Macomb Dakota edged No. 9 New Baltimore Anchor Bay 31-23 to also move on in Division 1 – Macomb Daily

No. 7 Carson City-Crystal downed St. Louis and Hart by a combined eight points to advance in Division 4 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Good Read

In the midst of ramping up to make a run at repeating as Class B champion, Marshall’s girls basketball team also has found itself in another fight after sophomore Maddie Reynolds was diagnosed recently with cancer – Battle Creek Enquirer