Today in the MHSAA: 11/11/19

November 11, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

District week of the MHSAA Volleyball Tournament closed with more champions earning their way to Regionals, but swimming & diving earned the brightest weekend headlines with power-packed league meets and historic accomplishments.

1. Girls Swimming & Diving: Saline – No. 4 in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – edged top-ranked Ann Arbor Pioneer by 16 points to win the Southeastern Conference Red meet – Saline Post

2. Girls Swimming & Diving: Grand Blanc won the Saginaw Valley League meet, ending LPD2 No. 7 Midland Dow’s 13-year hold on the title – Midland Daily News

3. Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD2 No. 6 Dexter won its 22nd straight league championship, finishing ahead of runner-up and LPD3 No. 9 Chelsea at the Southeastern Conference White meet – Chelsea Sun Times News

4. Girls Swimming & Diving: No. 5 Northville was first, No. 9 Novi second and No. 7 Brighton third at the Kensington Lakes Activities Association meet – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

5. Volleyball: Escanaba swept Menominee in Division 2 to claim its first District title in this sport – Escanaba Daily Press

6. Volleyball: Jackson Northwest won the final two sets of a five-set victory over Okemos in Division 1 to claim its first District title in this sport since 2001 – Jackson Citizen Patriot

7. Volleyball: Niles Brandywine avenged last month’s league-deciding loss to honorable mention Bridgman with a five-set Division 3 District title win – Niles Daily Star

8. Volleyball: Sterling Heights Stevenson went to an 18-16 fifth-set win to get past Macomb Dakota for a Division 1 District title – Macomb Daily

9. Volleyball: Ann Arbor Skyline repeated as a Division 1 District champion with a sweep of honorable mention Saline – We Love Ann Arbor

10. Volleyball: Honorable mention Edwardsburg swept Buchanan in Division 2 to finish a third straight District title run – Niles Daily Star

Also of note …

Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD1 honorable mention Zeeland finished an outright Ottawa-Kent Conference Green championship with a league meet win – Holland Sentinel

Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD1 No. 3 Rockford edged honorable mention Holland West Ottawa to claim the O-K Red meet title – Holland Sentinel

Volleyball: From Thursday, Ionia defeated Central Montcalm in five sets in Division 2 to earn its first District championship in this sport since 1977 – Greenville Daily News

Today in the MHSAA: 12/18/19

December 18, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The 2019 calendar year refuses to finish without making some significant early impacts on this basketball season, with Tuesday including a few that will be remembered.

1. Girls Basketball: Saginaw Swan Valley delivered Hemlock’s first regular-season season defeat in nearly two calendar years, 67-50 – Saginaw News

2. Boys Basketball: Grand Rapids Christian locked down Grand Rapids Catholic Central for a 60-54 win – FOX 17

3. Boys Basketball: Beaverton got past reigning league champ Sanford Meridian 40-38 in a matchup of the two best from the Jack Pine Conference in 2018-19 – Midland Daily News

4. Girls Basketball: Hartland slowed down Okemos for a 41-23 win – State Champs Sports Network

5. Boys Swimming & Diving: Holland West Ottawa had the top finisher in eight races on the way to a 112-72 win over Zeeland – Holland Sentinel

6. Girls Basketball: Carlee Crabtree scored her 1,000th career point as Coldwater earned its first win this season, 62-22 over Hastings – Coldwater Daily Reporter

7. Girls Basketball: Saline moved to 5-0 with a 71-24 win over Dearborn Henry Ford Academy as Ella Stemmer set a school record with eight 3-pointers – Saline Post

8. Boys Basketball: Tyson Acuff scored 44 points including the winning basket in Detroit Cass Tech’s 65-64 win over Henry Ford – Detroit News

9. Girls Basketball: Marquette held on for a low-scoring 35-32 win over Negaunee – The Upbeat

10. Girls Basketball: Morgan Case made a half-court shot at the buzzer to push Blissfield past Erie Mason 50-47 – Adrian Daily Telegram

Also of note …

State Champs Sports Network produced its MHSAA Finals shows for Volleyball, Girls Swimming & Diving and Football