Today in the MHSAA: 11/11/15

November 11, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Volleyball Regional Semifinals were the matches of the day Tuesday, and while all were noteworthy, below is a sampling of some that especially stuck out.

Volleyball

In one of the biggest matchups of the Regional Semifinals, Class A No. 3 Grand Rapids Christian swept No. 5 Grand Haven – Grand Rapids Press

In another match of Class A powers, reigning champion and No. 6 Romeo downed No. 4 Lake Orion in five sets; Gia Milana’s 40 kills tied the fourth-most in MHSAA history – Macomb Daily

No. 10 DeWitt reached its first Regional Final as a Class A team with a sweep of Richland Gull Lake – MLive-Lansing

Class A honorable mention Utica Eisenhower needed a fifth set to down Fenton, which finished 40-12-7 – Flint Journal

Class B No. 4 Battle Creek Harper Creek ended a record-setting season for honorable mention Buchanan – Battle Creek Enquirer

Honorable mention Marysville took down No. 6 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in four sets in a key Class B matchup – Port Huron Times-Herald

No. 9 Schoolcraft justified its slight ranking above No. 10 Kalamazoo Christian with a 3-1 win in Class C after falling to Christian 3-1 only a month ago – Kalamazoo Gazette

Unranked Unionville-Sebewaing swept honorable mention Saginaw Valley Lutheran in Class C – Saginaw News

Class D top-ranked Plymouth Christian eliminated No. 6 Waterford Our Lady in three sets, improving to 32-5-1 – Oakland Press

Today in the MHSAA: 2/8/16

February 8, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The weekend provided previews of MHSAA championship contenders in gymnastics, cheer and hockey, and also basketball with a matchup of two girls teams that could come away from this winter with titles and the reigning Class D boys champ shining again.

Girl Basketball

A last-second 3-pointer by Lauryn Carroll gave Ypsilanti Arbor Prep a 50-47 win over previously-undefeated Bay City John Glenn, considered arguably the top team in the state regardless of class – Bay City Times

Detroit Country Day edged Southfield-Lathrup 56-52 in a matchup of contenders in Class B and A, respectively – Oakland Press

Mona Shores locked down the usually-potent offense of rival Muskegon in defeating the Big Reds 55-34 – Muskegon Chronicle

Boys Basketball

Reigning Class D champion Powers North Central remained undefeated by handing a first loss to Crystal Falls Forest Park, 68-54 – Escanaba Daily Press

Southfield Christian just edged Belleville 70-69 for its 12th straight win – MLive-Detroit

Competitive Cheer

Reigning Division 1 champion Rochester finished ahead of a strong field to clinch the Oakland Activities Association Red championship – Oakland Press

Gymnastics

Rockford/Sparta, the reigning MHSAA champion, showed it’s the team to beat again this winter by claiming the championship at the prestigious Canton Invitational. Howell finished second and Farmington third – Canton Athletics

Hockey

The Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League Showcase pitted many of the state’s top teams with some of the key results a 3-0 win by Division 2 No. 3 Livonia Stevenson over Division 3 No. 1 Grand Rapids Catholic Central and 4-3 by unranked Houghton over Division 1 No. 3 Detroit U-D Jesuit – MIHL

Swimming & Diving

Warren DeLaSalle’s boys won their fourth straight Macomb County Invitational, finishing more than 300 points ahead of the field – Macomb Daily

Wrestling

Springport won its seventh straight Big 8 Conference championship, setting a league record in dominating its competition this time – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Allegan won its 12th straight Wolverine Conference title, finishing far ahead of the field and with three individual champions – Kalamazoo Gazette

Niles finished its championship run in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Good Read

Former opponents no doubt remember facing Marshall basketball standout Kari Searles on the court; many who supported her as a player supported her again Friday with a donation toward her care as she fights lung cancer – Battle Creek Enquirer