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

Today in the MHSAA: 4/15/19

April 15, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Michigan teams outraced the snow this weekend with a number of fireworks from the softball diamond, including a new career record holder for power-hitting prowess.

1. Softball: Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse’s Brooke Nadolny set the MHSAA career home runs record with her 56th and 57th in a sweep of Marysville – Macomb Daily

2. Softball: Division 2 No. 4 Eaton Rapids claimed the Saline Invitational title against a field that included Division 1 No. 6 Warren Regina – Saline Post

3. Softball: Bay City John Glenn won the Bay County Invitational with wins over Division 1 No. 7 Western, Central and Division 3 honorable mention Pinconning – Bay City Times

4. Baseball: Division 1 No. 11 Midland Dow downed Division 2 No. 14 Petoskey and Saginaw Heritage to win its invitational, but the Northmen did edge Division 2 top-ranked Saginaw Swan Valley 10-9 – Midland Daily News

5. Softball: Division 1 honorable mention Walled Lake Northern won a Farmington Hills Mercy Invitational against a field that included Division 2 No. 9 Carleton Airport, another Division 1 honorable mention New Baltimore Anchor Bay and Division 4 No. 3 Rogers City – State Champs Sports Network

6. Track & Field: Alpena’s boys and girls teams celebrated school records and the boys team went on to win the Davison Invitational while Ann Arbor Pioneer won the girls championship – Alpena News/We Love Ann Arbor

7. Boys Golf: Marshall shot a 314 to win the Coldwater Invitational by two strokes ahead of runner-up Mattawan – Coldwater Daily Reporter

8. Softball: Traverse City West won the East Kentwood Invitational, and Kalkaska took the title at Adrian’s tournament – Traverse City Record-Eagle

9. Track & Field – The Addison boys and Sand Creek girls won Britton Deerfield Invitational championships – Adrian Daily Telegram

10. Girls Tennis: Trenton won a Grosse Ile Invitational that included Dearborn Divine Child and Brownstown Woodhaven along with the host Red Devils – Southgate News-Herald