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: 2/5/18

February 5, 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.

Today's Top 10 

1. Wrestling: Division 2 No. 9 Stevensville Lakeshore finished ahead of No. 6 Niles and Division 1 No. 10 Battle Creek Lakeview to complete a Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference title with a league tournament win – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

2. Hockey: After falling to Indiana power Culver Academy on Friday, Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central came back to down Ohio power Cleveland St. Ignatius 6-1 at the MIHL Prep Hockey Showcase – Observer & Eccentric

3. Boys Swimming & Diving: Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 10 Detroit Catholic Central got past No. 4 Birmingham Brother Rice to win the Oakland County championship – Oakland Press

4. Boys Basketball: Foster Loyer scored 31 points in a 75-29 win over Bloomfield Hills to go over 2,000 for his career – Detroit Free Press

5. Girls Basketball: Morenci clinched a share of its first league title since 2004 with a 79-54 win over Ottawa Lake Whiteford in the Tri-County Conference – Adrian Daily Telegram

6. Cheer: Division 2 No. 2 Gibraltar Carlson claimed the overall title just ahead of host and No. 5 Southgate Anderson at the Southgate Invitational; No. 9 Dearborn Divine Child was third – Southgate News Herald

7. Boys Basketball: Ryan Arndt went over 1,000 career points for Bark River-Harris in its 85-45 win over Felch North Dickinson – Iron Mountain Daily News

8. Wrestling: Gladwin finished second at the Jack Pine Conference tournament to Beaverton, but by doing so clinched its first league title in the sport in more than a decade – Midland Daily News

9. Girls Basketball: Pittsford ran its winning streak to 70 with a 49-32 win over Athens, which entered the week also undefeated – Hillsdale Daily News

10. Wrestling: Division 1 No. 9 Hudsonville followed up a perfect regular-season run by winning the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red league tournament – Grand Rapids Press

Also of note …

Wrestling: Division 2 top-ranked Lowell celebrated nine individual champions on the way to winning the O-K White league tournament – Grand Rapids Press

Wrestling: Temperance Bedford and Tecumseh clinched Southeastern Conference division championships, with Bedford winning the overall league title – Adrian Daily Telegram

Wrestling: Edwardsburg finished off a second straight Wolverine Conference championship – Niles Daily Star

Wrestling: Coldwater followed a perfect dual run through the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference with a league tournament win – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Wrestling: Division 4 No. 8 Springport also followed a perfect dual run through the Big 8 Conference with a league tournament win – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Wrestling: Byron Center edged Holland with all 14 of its wrestlers placing to win the O-K Green league tournament – Grand Rapids Press

Wrestling: Belding placed 13 wrestlers to win big at the O-K Silver tournament – Grand Rapids Press

Boys Basketball: St. Clair edged Warren Woods Tower 58-55 to clinch the Macomb Area Conference Gold championship – Port Huron Times Herald

Wrestling: Gladstone saw eight champions crowned in winning the Mid-Peninsula Conference team championship – Escanaba Daily Press

Wrestling: Brownstown Woodhaven won the Downriver League meet to share the overall league title with Southgate Anderson for the second straight season – Southgate News Herald

Wrestling: Division 3 No. 2 Richmond and Division 1 No. 1 Detroit Catholic Central added league tournament championships as well – Macomb Daily

Wrestling: Division 4 No. 3 Mendon, Comstock, Schoolcraft and Colon were among others that clinched wrestling league tournament titles – JoeInsider.com

Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD2 No. 5 Warren DeLaSalle won its sixth straight Macomb County championship – Macomb Daily

Girls Basketball: Charlevoix scored the final 13 points over 1:13 to beat Traverse City St. Francis 50-48 to create a first-place tie between the two in the Lake Michigan Conference – Traverse City Record-Eagle