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: 5/8/17

May 8, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Muskegon County championships in a number of sports highlighted a busy weekend of action to kick off May, the final month of the spring regular season for most teams across the state.

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

Division 4 No. 6 Muskegon Catholic Central won a championship game rematch with Montague 7-4 to claim the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association Tier 2 title – Muskegon Chronicle

Whitehall downed Muskegon Mona Shores 10-6, ending the Sailors’ GMAA Tier 1 title streak at five straight – Muskegon Chronicle

Bay City Western split with Mount Pleasant, getting a 1-0 shutout win from pitcher Cody Freed in the first game – Bay City Times

Division 1 No. 9 Livonia Stevenson came back to down Livonia Franklin 3-1 to win an all-city championship – Observer & Eccentric

Boys Golf

Lower Peninsula Division 4 No. 2 Muskegon Catholic Central followed medalist Collin Powers to a Greater Muskegon Athletic Association win of two strokes over Mona Shores – Muskegon Chronicle

Gladstone edged the host by two strokes at the Escanaba Invitational as Carney-Nadeau’s Hunter Eichhorn shot a first-place 67 – Escanaba Daily Press

Boys Lacrosse

Division 1 No. 3 Hartland remained undefeated by ending No. 7 Brighton’s 51-game league winning streak with a 16-5 victory – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Softball

Muskegon Reeths-Puffer fell in its opener but came back to repeat as Greater Muskegon Athletic Association Tier 1 champion – Muskegon Chronicle

Division 2 No. 5 Muskegon Oakridge repeated as GMAA Tier 2 champion with an 8-2 win over Division 4 No. 4 Holton – Muskegon Chronicle

Division 1 No. 4 Walled Lake Northern won the 40-team Michigan Stars Invitational, with No. 5 Midland finishing third – Midland Daily News

Girls Tennis

Lower Peninsula Division 4 No. 6 North Muskegon claimed its fifth straight Greater Muskegon Athletic Association championship as Brittany Bailey won a flight title for the third time in four seasons – Muskegon Chronicle

Battle Creek Lakeview clinched the All-City championship, sweeping all eight flight titles – Battle Creek Enquirer

Track & Field

Muskegon Reeths-Puffer’s girls won their eighth straight Greater Muskegon Athletic Association meet led again by standout Maryssa Depies – Muskegon Chronicle

Fruitport’s boys won their fourth straight Greater Muskegon Athletic Association title with three two-event winners – Muskegon Chronicle

Marysville swept the Algonac Muskrat Classic Small School titles, sharing the boys championship with Marine City – Port Huron Times Herald

St. Ignace’s girls won their Kiwanis Invitational, while Newberry’s boys claimed that title – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Lake Linden-Hubbell’s teams swept the Lakes Invitational titles – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Remus Chippewa Hills swept the Sanford Meridian Nite Trax Invitational titles; the girls team is ranked No. 8 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – Big Rapids News

LP Division 4 No. 4 Grand Haven’s girls edged LP Division 2 top-ranked Ada Forest Hills Eastern by 14 points at the Holland West Ottawa Invitational – Grand Haven Tribune

Centreville’s girls, No. 3 in LP Division 4, finished ahead of No. 6 Marcellus to win their invitational – Sturgis Journal