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: 1/16/18
January 16, 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. Boys Swimming & Diving – Holland West Ottawa, No. 4 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, emerged as the best among titans with wins over No. 3 Birmingham Brother Rice and No. 1 Ann Arbor Skyline in a tri-meet – Holland Sentinel
2. Wrestling: Four of Michigan’s best tested themselves against Ohio power Lakewood St. Edward, which finished 4-0 with wins over Division 1 No. 1 Detroit Catholic Central, No. 4 Davison, Division 2 No. 1 Lowell and Division 3 No. 1 Dundee – Observer & Eccentric
3. Wrestling: Division 2 No. 4 DeWitt claimed the Ada Forest Hills Eastern Invitational title, handing No. 10 Niles its first loss in the process – Niles Daily Star
4. Girls Basketball: Stanton Central Montcalm moved to 11-0 this season with a 48-39 win over Big Rapids, which also entered undefeated – Greenville Daily News
5. Wrestling: Division 2 No. 7 Stevensville Lakeshore won the Holland West Ottawa Invitational, downing Rockford in the final, and coach Bruce Bittenbender won his 900th career match during the run – St. Joseph Herald Palladium
6. Wrestling: Division 1 No. 2 Brighton finished the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Gold Duals 5-0 on Saturday and defeated No. 3 Macomb Dakota on Sunday to finish off a strong weekend – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
7. Boys Basketball: Marine City Cardinal Mooney’s Daniel Everhart scored 23 points in a 70-44 win over Allen Park Cabrini to become the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,423 over his career – Port Huron Times Herald
8. Wrestling: Sparta placed 11 wrestlers to win its invitational, with Grandville second and Division 4 No. 10 Springport third – Grand Rapids Press
9. Hockey: Kingsford won a high-scoring road game at Division 3 No. 5 Houghton, 6-5 – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
10. Cheer: Preparation paid off for Bay City Central as it won its Wolfpack Cheer Challenge by more than 50 points – Bay City Times
Also of note …
Boys Swimming & Diving: Just more than a week ago, Corunna’s Xavier Staubs and Grant Warner were the biggest winners during a meet against Owosso; they pulled an unresponsive Owosso competitor from the water so others could then revive him – Detroit Free Press