Today in the MHSAA: 10/24/16
October 24, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This weekend wasn’t all about football, as Upper Peninsula cross country teams ran to a total of six championships and a number of soccer teams finished District title runs.
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.
Cross County
The No. 2-ranked Sault Ste. Marie girls won their first MHSAA Finals championship, taking first in Upper Peninsula Division 1, while top-ranked Ishpeming repeated in Division 2 and No. 2 Cedarville moved to the top in Division 3 – Second Half
All three reigning champions repeated in the boys Upper Peninsula Finals, with No. 1 Negaunee, No. 1 Ishpeming and No. 2 Chassell claiming titles – Second Half
The Saginaw Heritage girls extended to nine their winning streak in the annual Saginaw County Meet, and the boys team won as well – Saginaw News
The Romeo, St. Clair and Marysville girls won Macomb Area Conference meet championships – Macomb Daily
The St. Clair Shores Lakeview, Macomb Dakota, and St. Clair boys were among other winners at the MAC meet – Macomb Daily
Birmingham Brother Rice (No. 4 LPD1) ended Detroit Catholic Central’s nine-year hold of the Detroit Catholic League I/II championship, while Madison Heights Bishop Foley’s boys and Dearborn Divine Child (No. 4 LPD2) and Wixom St. Catherine’s girls also won titles – Oakland Press
Blissfield’s girls (No. 8 LPD3) and Erie-Mason’s boys (No. 9) won Lenawee County Athletic Association championships – Adrian Daily Telegram
Corunna’s Noah Jacobs ran a 15:05.36 to win the Shiawassee Invitational – Owosso Argus-Press
Boys Soccer
No. 10 Tawas won its reportedly 17th District title in 21 seasons with a 4-1 victory over West Branch Ogemaw Heights in Division 3 – Bay City Times
No. 9 Grand Rapids Covenant Christian just got past No. 8 Grandville Calvin Christian 1-0 to win a Division 4 title – Grand Rapids Press
Hartland won its first District championship since 1998, downing Walled Lake Central 2-0 in Division 1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Buckley downed McBain Northern Michigan Christian 2-0 to win its first District title in 13 years, in Division 4 – Cadillac News
No. 10 Lansing Christian downed No. 7 Hillsdale Academy 3-1, also in Division 4 – Hillsdale Daily News
Volleyball
Class A honorable mention Niles won its seventh invitational of this season, downing Hartford, Paw Paw, Edwardsburg, Stevensville Lakeshore and host St. Joseph in the final – Niles Daily Star
Class C No. 2 Bronson downed Class D No. 2 Mendon in four sets to claim their Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph division championship – Sturgis Journal
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