Today in the MHSAA: 10/30/15
October 30, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Thursday’s Boys Soccer Regionals saw another reigning champion and one more top-ranked team fall, and two of the top small-school volleyball teams in the state matched up as that regular-season for that sport rolled toward a close.
Boys Soccer
Division 1 No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central shut out No. 10 Portage Northern to move to 21-0-3 – Grand Rapids Press
Division 2 No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern downed No. 5 and reigning champion East Lansing in a shootout – Grand Rapids Press
Williamston, No. 3 in Division 3, eliminated top-ranked Flint Powers Catholic from the MHSAA Tournament for the second straight season – Lansing State Journal
No. 2 Grand Rapids South Christian earned a trip to the Division 3 Semifinals with a 1-0 win over No. 7 Paw Paw – Grand Rapids Press
No. 4 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood reached the Division 2 Semifinals with a 1-0 win over No. 18 Ortonville-Brandon – Oakland Press
Division 4 No. 7 Kalamazoo Hackett scored twice during the second half to get past No. 10 Hartford – Kalamazoo Gazette
Volleyball
Class C No. 1 Bronson closed the regular season with three-set wins over Class D No. 2 Battle Creek St. Philip and Sturgis – Sturgis Journal
Whitehall finished 3-0 at the West Michigan Conference tournament to claim its eighth straight league title, with a little help from Shelby, which eliminated Class C No. 4 Montague – Muskegon Chronicle
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