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: 12/19/16
December 19, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Sports will slow down over the next two weeks as schools go on break and we roll in 2017. But in advance, take a look at a ton of coverage from the busiest weekend of this winter season so far.
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
Galesburg-Augusta improved to 5-0 with a 33-29 win over previously-undefeated Schoolcraft – Kalamazoo Gazette
Cedarville earned what could become a key win in the Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference, 43-40 over Pickford – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News
Boys Basketball
Levi Lehman had a monstrous 25 points and 31 rebounds in Ithaca’s 73-49 win over St. Louis – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Sturgis remained undefeated with a league-opening 44-41 win over Dowagiac – Sturgis Journal
Luke Morrell’s basket at the buzzer gave Plainwell a 60-58 win over Paw Paw – Kalamazoo Gazette
Beaverton remained undefeated with a 43-37 comeback win over Sanford Meridian thanks to 31 points from Carter Johnston – Saginaw News
Saginaw Heritage downed neighbor Saginaw Arthur Hill for the first time since 2000, 46-38 – Saginaw News
Ann Arbor Skyline sent a powerful statement with a 95-92 triple-overtime win over Ann Arbor Huron, last season’s co-champion in the Southeastern Conference Red – Ann Arbor News
East Lansing started on avenging last season’s only loss, to Lansing Everett, with a 59-53 victory – Lansing State Journal
Competitive Cheer
Adrian Madison won the Onsted Invitational with a score of 691.52, only four points shy of its Regional score from a year ago – Adrian Daily Telegram
Hockey
Jake Crespi scored with 15:12 to play to give Division 1 top-ranked Brighton a 1-0 win over Division 2 No. 4 Livonia Stevenson – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Alpena won the Blue Line Tournament with a 2-1 win over East Kentwood – Alpena News
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard scored four goals in the third period to down Division 2 No. 10 Saline 8-6 in a matchup of Washtenaw County powers – Saline Post
Wrestling
DeWitt, No. 2 in Division 2, won the Brighton Invitational just ahead of the Division 1 No. 8 Bulldogs – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Addison downed a group including a number of larger schools to win the Ypsilanti Lincoln Invitational – Adrian Daily Telegram
Division 3 No. 4 Remus Chippewa Hills earned championships at seven weights in winning its invitational – Big Rapids News
Macomb Dakota, No. 4 in Division 1, won the Macomb County Classic ahead of Warren Woods-Tower – Macomb Daily
Oxford, No. 6 in Division 1, was Oakland County champion, ending Detroit Catholic Central’s seven-year hold on the trophy (although the Shamrocks’ top-ranked A team was at an event in Ohio) – Oakland Press
Petoskey went 5-0 against Upper Peninsula teams to win the annual Bridge Brawl at Rudyard – Petoskey News-Review
Sand Creek won its invitational, taking three of four matches by double figures – Adrian Daily Telegram
Gaylord, No. 7 in Division 2, won the Marquette Challenge with three individual champions to remain undefeated – Gaylord Herald Times
Coloma won the South Haven Invitational with a seven-point victory over Niles’ B team – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Good Read
From Brooklyn, N.Y., to East Lansing, from helping build the World Trade Center after dropping out of high school to becoming the Trojans’ boys basketball coach, Steve Finamore’s story is truly fascinating – Lansing State Journal