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: 5/22/18

May 22, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
 

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

1. Girls Soccer: Division 4 top-ranked North Muskegon ran its record to 16-0 and its overall scoring advantage to 129-0 this spring with an 8-0 win over Ravenna in the West Michigan Conference semifinals – Muskegon Chronicle

2. Girls Soccer: Alma secured the Tri-Valley Conference Central title with a 7-1 win over Ovid-Elsie as Tia Everdeen became the first in program history to score 100 goals – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

3. Boys Golf: Pentwater won the West Michigan D League postseason tournament by a stroke to finish first overall in the league – Manistee News Advocate

4. Softball: Warren Regina came back to edge Farmington Hills Mercy 5-4 in the Detroit Catholic League A-B championship game – Detroit News

5. Girls Soccer: Division 1 No. 18 Rochester Adams downed Rochester 2-0 to clinch an outright Oakland Activities Association Red championship – Oakland Press

6. Boys Golf: Bad Axe won the final Greater Thumb Conference event of the spring by four strokes to create a shared title in the GTC West with Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker – Huron Daily Tribune

7. Baseball/Softball: The Hillman baseball and Division 4 honorable mention Onaway softball teams finished their league title runs undefeated in their respective conferences with two more wins apiece – Alpena News

8. Girls Soccer: Grace VerHage scored her 99th and 100th career goals as Otsego downed Plainwell to stay undefeated in the Wolverine Conference – WWMT

9. Track & Field: The Johannesburg-Lewiston girls and Mancelona boys clinched Ski Valley Conference championships – Traverse City Record-Eagle

10. Softball: Division 3 honorable mention Boyne City swept Charlevoix to earn a share of the Lake Michigan Conference title – Petoskey News-Review

Also of note …

Officials: The MHSAA always is working to recruit and retain officials, and WNEM addressed some of the challenges – WNEM