Today in the MHSAA: 10/22/15

October 22, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Some of the state’s dominant cross country programs finished off their league seasons in sweeping fashion Wednesday, while the Lower Peninsula soccer tournament continued through half of its semifinals.

Cross Country

Sand Creek swept the Tri-County Conference championship meets, in both cases finishing ahead of runner-up Adrian Madison. Sand Creek’s boys are ranked No. 12 in Lower Peninsula Division 4 – Adrian Daily Telegram

Hanover-Horton’s ranked teams swept the Cascades Conference meets, with the No. 3 in LPD3 boys winning for the ninth time in 12 years and the No. 10-ranked girls winning for the 16th straight season – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Clare’s No. 9-ranked girls and No. 11-ranked boys (in LPD3) swept Jack Pine Conference titles, the girls winning their sixth in a row and the boys their eighth – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

The Northville girls, No. 1 in LPD1, won their sixth straight Kensington Lakes Activities Association Kensington title, while the No. 3 Novi boys edged No. 2 Northville by seven points to claim their crown – Oakland Press

Boys soccer

Fruitport’s Noah Hendricks set a school record for goals in a season with 38, scoring in his 15th consecutive game to lead the No. 9 Trojans to a 7-0 district win over Allendale in Division 2 – Muskegon Chronicle

Division 3 No. 9 Whitehall scored an overtime goal to get past unranked Shelby in a district semifinal – Muskegon Chronicle

Division 2 No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern survived No. 17 Grand Rapids Northview, 2-1 in their district semifinal – Grand Rapids Press

Volleyball

Manistique remained undefeated in dual matches this season with a five-set victory over Escanaba on the Eskymos’ parents night – Escanaba Daily Press

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