Today in the MHSAA: 10/23/17

October 23, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

Today's Top 10

1. Girls Golf: Harbor Springs claimed its first MHSAA Finals championship, and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern claimed its first since 1982 on Saturday; Traverse City West also won for the second time in three years and Macomb Lutheran North won for the second year in a row but in a new division – Second Half

2. Boys Tennis: Okemos finished undefeated to claim its first MHSAA Finals title in a decade, while Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett repeated and Bloomfield Hills High School locked down its second title in three seasons – Second Half

3. Boys Cross Country: New champions rose at the Upper Peninsula Finals as Houghton, Bessemer Gogebic and Brimley claimed titles – Second Half

4. Girls Cross Country: Marquette, St. Ignace and Chassell claimed the girls titles at the Upper Peninsula Finals, St. Ignace for the first time in Division 2 and ahead of three-time reigning champion Ishpeming – Second Half

5. Boys Soccer: Division 4 No. 3 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian claimed a District title with a 2-0 win over top-ranked Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian – Local Sports Journal

6. Boys Soccer: Division 2 No. 7 Coldwater claimed its first District title in boys soccer with a 3-2 overtime win over rival and No. 6-ranked Marshall, which had beaten Coldwater twice this fall – Coldwater Daily Reporter

7. Cross Country: The Traverse City West girls, No. 7 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, finished two points ahead of rival and No. 5-ranked Central to win the Northern Michigan Cross Country Championships; West also won the boys title, by 60 points – Traverse City Record-Eagle

8. Cross Country: The St. Clair boys, No. 7 in Lower Peninsula Division 2, finished off a Macomb Area Conference White championship and also won the overall MAC title finishing ahead of 35 others from the league’s various divisions – Port Huron Times Herald

9. Volleyball: Class D No. 10 Muskegon Catholic Central won its first volleyball league title, downing Ludington and Manistee to claim the Lakes 8 Conference tournament and overall championships – Local State Journal

10. Boys Soccer: Midland Dow improved to 22-3-1 with a 1-0 Division 1 District Final win over Traverse City Central after losing in District Finals the last two seasons – Midland Daily News

Also of note ...

Volleyball: Class C top-ranked Bronson moved into the Big 8 Conference this season and finishing the volleyball league season by winning the conference tournament and outright title – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Volleyball: Whitehall beat Hart and Class C honorable mentions Shelby and Ravenna at the West Michigan Conference tournament to claim the overall league title – Local State Journal

Today in the MHSAA: 3/7/16

March 7, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

What a weekend – we covered all four Cheer Finals, all eight Bowling Finals, and quoted all 56 individual wrestling champions, plus awarded girls basketball District and boys ice hockey Regional champions.

Girls Basketball

Reed City is .500 this season, but rose to the occasion last week with its first District championship since 2000 – Big Rapids News

St. Johns won its first District title since 2005, handing Flushing only its third loss, 37-31 – Lansing State Journal

Bowling

The Davison girls won their fourth Division 1 title in seven seasons Friday, and junior Taylor Davis rolled a 300 and won the individual title Saturday. On the boys side, Wyandotte Roosevelt claimed the championship and Warren Mott’s Brad Delmarle won the individual title – Second Half Team | Singles

The Lansing Eastern boys won the school’s first MHSAA championship since 1981, while Kearsley won the girls title for the third straight year and then got an individual title Saturday from Hannah Ploof. Sturgis’ Austin Robison claimed the Division 2 boys singles title – Second Half Team | Singles

After slow starts, the Alma girls and Saginaw Swan Valley boys won MHSAA team titles in Division 3, while Flat Rock’s Kayla Jackson and Olivet’s Daniel Higgins shined for singles titles Saturday – Second Half Team | Singles

The Ithaca girls won their first MHSAA bowling title in Division 4, while Sandusky’s boys won their first since 2005. St. Charles’ Kyle Tuttle won his third straight singles title Saturday, and Vandercook Lake’s Brianna Fish claimed the girls championship – Second Half Team | Singles                                                     

Competitive Cheer

Rochester won its first MHSAA championship since 2009 and record 13th total – Second Half

Gibraltar Carlson set an MHSAA record with its sixth consecutive championship, finishing again atop Division 2 – Second Half

Pontiac Notre Dame Prep closed this cheer season with a third-straight championship in Division 3 – Second Half

Breckenridge continued to recreate its dominance in Division 4, winning its second straight MHSAA title – Second Half

Ice Hockey

Marquette scored five goals during the third period to come from behind and beat Midland 5-1 in a Division 2 Regional Final – Marquette Mining Journal

Birmingham Brother Rice got four goals from Emerson Vogel to down Berkley 8-3, also in a Division 2 Regional Final – Oakland Press

Wrestling

Detroit Catholic Central dominated and Grandville ended the season with an MHSAA individual champion at the Division 1 Final – Second Half

Upsets abounded in Division 2, but St. Johns’ Ian Parker held on to repeat as a champion – Second Half

Lake Fenton’s Jarrett Trombley won his second individual title and ended Devin Schroder’s bid for four in Division 3 – Second Half

Hudson senior Kyle Johnson bounced back from an earlier exit as a junior to win his second Division 4 title in three seasons – Second Half