Today in the MHSAA: 10/9/19

October 9, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

This is the time of year top programs rise from the rest, and the Benzie Central cross country teams led a list of Tuesday standouts that showed again why they are so highly regarded.

1. Boys Cross Country: Benzie Central continued an incredible streak of winning every Northwest Conference championship meet, girls and boys, since joining the league in 2007; the girls are ranked No. 3 and the boys No. 7 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

2. Boys Soccer: Division 2 top-ranked Richland Gull Lake remained unbeaten with a 6-0 win over No. 7 St. Joseph in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference championship match – WWMT

3. Girls Golf: No. 9 Traverse City West won its LPD1 Regional by 10 strokes, and Anci Dy was medalist by 16 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

4. Girls Golf: Top-ranked Harbor Springs shot a 340 to clear its LPD4 Regional field by 89 strokes – Petoskey News-Review

5. Volleyball: Division 1 top-ranked Farmington Hills Mercy improved to 33-1 with a sweep of No. 5 Bloomfield Hills Marian – Oakland Press

6. Girls Golf: No. 8 Petoskey repeated as an LPD2 Regional champion, edging runner-up Traverse City Central by a stroke – Petoskey News-Review

7. Cross Country: Brighton swept Kensington Lakes Activities Association West tri-meets, the LPD1 No. 1 Bulldogs boys to clinch the division championship; the girls are ranked No. 6 in LPD1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

8. Boys Soccer: Division 4 No. 4 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian finished a title run through the Lakes 8 Conference with a win over Muskegon Catholic Central – Local Sports Journal

9. Girls Swimming & Diving: Dundee moved to 9-0 in dual meets with a 95-91 win over LPD3 No. 10 Milan, its first ever over that annually successful opponent – Monroe News

10. Volleyball: Boyne City earned its first win over Division 3 honorable mention Traverse City St. Francis since 2013, in five sets – Petoskey News-Review

Also of note …

Volleyball: From Tuesday, Division 3 honorable mention Manistique earned a share of the Mid-Peninsula Conference title with a sweep of Negaunee – Escanaba Daily Press

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