Today in the MHSAA: 10/4/19

October 4, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

As the weather dipped toward what we expect every fall, teams in a variety of sports continued locking down league titles Thursday with MHSAA Tournaments beginning in boys soccer, Lower Peninsula girls golf and boys tennis next week.  

1. Boys Tennis: Midland Dow — No. 6 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – clinched its 14th straight Saginaw Valley League championship, emerging first from a close race at the league tournament – Midland Daily News

2. Boys Soccer: Division 1 No. 2 Okemos finished its run to a Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup title with a 4-0 win over Division 3 No. 6 Lansing Catholic – Lansing State Journal

3. Boys Soccer: Traverse City West downed Alpena to lock up its 10th straight Big North Conference title in this sport – Up North Live

4. Boys Soccer: Birmingham Seaholm got past Lake Orion 2-0 to clinch the Oakland Activities Association White title – Oakland Press

5. Boys Soccer: Dexter downed Chelsea 1-0 to clinch the Southeastern Conference White Tournament championship – Chelsea Sun Times News

6. Girls Golf: Plainwell shot a 381 and won a tie-breaker with Dowagiac to claim the Wolverine Conference Tournament title – Sturgis Journal

7. Boys Soccer: Fremont prevailed in a shootout to get past Newaygo 3-2 in the Central State Activities Association Gold Tournament final – Local Sports Journal

8. Boys Soccer: Division 3 No. 12 Elk Rapids downed Harbor Springs 4-1 to earn a share of the Lake Michigan Conference championship – Traverse City Record-Eagle

9. Girls Golf: The Mid-Michigan Golf Conference Tournament was canceled, and Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart was awarded the league title based on its overall scores from MMGC jamborees – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

10. Volleyball: No. 2 Hudsonville won a matchup of ranked teams in Division 1, getting past No. 9 Grand Haven 3-1 – Grand Rapids Press

Also of note …

Boys Soccer: From Wednesday, Dearborn Heights Crestwood clinched the Western Wayne Athletic Conference title with a 5-3 victory over Melvindale – Southgate News-Herald

Today in the MHSAA: 1/6/20

January 6, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The clashing of statewide wrestling powers and a nearly unbelievable performance on the ice highlighted a power-packed first weekend of 2020.

1. Wrestling: Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central, No. 2 Davison, No. 3 Brighton and Division 2 top-ranked Lowell took the top four team places, respectively, at the 56th DCC Invitational – Oakland Press

2. Hockey: Division 2 No. 2 Livonia Stevenson downed Hartland 5-2, with Seth Lause scoring an incredible three short-handed goals – Observer & Eccentric

3. Boys Basketball: Flint Beecher downed Benton Harbor 76-62 in a matchup of teams expected to make runs at Finals championships in March – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

4. Hockey: Division 1 No. 5 Brighton handed the first loss of the season to the last team without one, 3-2 to Division 3 top-ranked Calumet – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

5. Hockey: Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central earned a significant league win 6-0 over No. 4 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s – Oakland Press

6. Girls Basketball: Kelsey Richards went over 30 points for the fifth straight game as Fruitport Calvary Christian earned a 50-46 statement win over Central Montcalm – Muskegon Chronicle

7. Wrestling: Division 4 top-ranked Clinton followed a pair of individual champions to the team title at the 45th Dave Elliott Memorial Tournament – Adrian Daily Telegram

8. Boys Basketball: In another matchup of championship hopefuls, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s downed Grand Blanc 69-66 – Flint Journal

9. Girls Basketball: Hart continued its surge with a 51-35 win over Calvary Christian the day after the latter’s big win noted above – Muskegon Chronicle

10. Hockey: Ann Arbor Pioneer improved to 8-2 with a 2-1 win over rival Skyline in the final of the Jilek Cup – We Love Ann Arbor

Also of note …

Football: The football community is mourning the death of Zeeland West assistant Gasper Giarmo, who coached more than 30 years combined at seven schools including a decade at Byron Center – Grand Rapids Press