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: 6/13/17
June 13, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The final week of the 2016-17 sports school year started with a day off Monday, but Quarterfinals for baseball and softball are this afternoon, as are the first half of girls soccer Semifinals. We’ve loaded up plenty of advance stories to preview many of today’s games.
Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.
Baseball
A year after making its first Quarterfinal since 1998, Rochester is back again and looking for more – Oakland Press
Grand Haven is making its first Quarterfinal appearance ever after winning both its first Regional title, and first Regional Semifinal since 1989, in Division 1 – Grand Haven Tribune
Sterling Heights Stevenson is gearing up for a Division 1 Quarterfinal against Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, which opted up to Division 1 this year – Macomb Daily
A young Homer team is back in a familiar spot playing in the Division 3 Quarterfinals – Battle Creek Enquirer
Girls Soccer
Holland Christian will enter today’s Semifinal continuing to ride the inspiration of Cassie Delf, younger sister of teammate Regi, who died this spring after fighting leukemia – Holland Sentinel
Softball
Richmond shortstop Carley Barjaktarovich is one of the most important pressure players for the reigning Division 2 champion – Macomb Daily
The Blue Devils also are relying on experience as they try to make it back to Michigan State – Port Huron Times Herald
Mendon is one of the stories of the tournament, making the final week in Division 4 after entering the postseason 14-15 – Sturgis Journal
Spring Lake heads into the Quarterfinals for the first time after winning its first Regional, in Division 2 – Grand Haven Tribune
Walled Lake Northern has risen mightily this season and now faces a similar team in Clarkston in Division 1 – Oakland Press
Coloma is enjoying a shutout streak after winning its Division 3 Regional with a pair – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Rogers City is headed to the Division 4 Quarterfinals for the fourth time in six seasons and will face top-ranked Indian River Inland Lakes – Alpena News
After leaving last season’s Division 1 Final with an injury, Macomb Dakota pitcher Kendahl Dunford is glad to be only a win away from returning to Secchia Stadium – Detroit Free Press