Today in the MHSAA: 10/8/15

October 8, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The start of the Lower Peninsula Girls Golf Tournament included plenty of highlights to top an eventful Wednesday statewide.

Girls Golf

Lower Peninsula Division 2 No. 8 Muskegon Mona Shores won the MHSAA Regional at Thornapple Pointe Golf Club, but Reeths-Puffer freshman Karina VanDuinen also was exceptional going under par to finish first individually – Muskegon Chronicle

LP Division 2 top-ranked Midland Dow tied No. 6 Flushing at 340 and won the Regional title on the fifth-golfer tie-breaker – Saginaw News

Frankenmuth, No. 4 in LP Division 4, won its first Regional title and just ahead of No. 5 Freeland – Saginaw News

New Boston Huron qualified for the MHSAA Finals for the first time in this sport by finishing third at Monroe Country Club – Mlive-Detroit

Boys Soccer

Division 2 top-ranked Holland Christian and Division 3 No. 6 Hudsonville Unity Christian played to a 3-3 tie that made both 6-0-2 in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green – Holland Sentinel

Unranked Tecumseh is 6-4-4 but unbeaten in eight straight after tying Division 2 No. 12 Dexter – Adrian Daily Telegram

Unranked Buckley, a solid 13-2, upset Division 4 No. 3 Leland 2-1. Buckley hadn’t beaten Leland in boys soccer since 2003 – Cadillac News

Division 3 No. 10 Gladwin capped its Northern Michigan Soccer League schedule with another win to finish with a conference record of 10-0 – Midland Daily News

Volleyball

Unranked Mason, a Class A quarterfinalist a year ago, downed No. 10 DeWitt in five sets to create a two-team tie atop the Capital Area Activities Conference Red standings – Lansing State Journal

Good Reads

Coldwater will host its first swimming and diving meet tonight thanks to a $15 million dollar donation that paid for a new aquatic center and was given in honor of the school’s Class of 1942 by one of its members – Battle Creek Enquirer

Farmington Hills Harrison football is 5-1 under longtime coach John Herrington in what might be the final season of the school and despite the transfers of two players before the start of practice – Detroit News

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