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: 2/22/17
February 22, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The basketball season continues to speed to a momentous conclusion, but today make sure to get to the bottom of this report for a couple of stories about athletes working through tragedy that you don’t want to miss.
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.
Boys Basketball
Big Rapids finished an outright Central State Activities Association Gold title with a 60-35 win over Reed City – Big Rapids News
New Haven advanced in the Macomb Area Conference Blue-Gold Tournament with a win over Warren Woods Tower and thanks to 40 points by Eric Williams, Jr. – Macomb Daily
Walled Lake Western edged rival Walled Lake Northern 63-62 to move on in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Tournament – Oakland Press
Detroit U-D Jesuit just got past Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 51-49 to advance to the Detroit Catholic League A-B Final – Detroit News
Dollar Bay’s Devin Schmitz needed four points to reach 1,000 for his career, but scored 43 in a 66-57 win over Hancock – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
Parma Western fell into a tie for first place in the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference after a 54-53 loss to Battle Creek Harper Creek – Battle Creek Enquirer
Blake Dunn became Saugatuck’s all-time leading scorer with 1,489 points, adding 19 in a win over Lawton – Grand Rapids Press
Girls Basketball
Brethren’s Taytum Myers became her school’s first 1,000-point scorer during a win over Lake Leelanau St. Mary – Manistee News Advocate
Frankenmuth clinched its 12th-straight Tri-Valley Conference East title with a 47-27 win over Essexville Garber – Saginaw News
Dearborn Heights Robichaud standout Kamaria McDaniel scored 39 points, but Flint Hamady emerged with a 75-67 win – Flint Journal
From Monday, Harbor Springs Harbor Light Christian got past Ellsworth 50-49 to secure its first Northern Lakes Conference title since 2007 – Petoskey News-Review
Good Reads
Similar tragedies have struck the Traverse City Bay Reps hockey program over the last three years, as multiple players have experienced the death of a parent. But the team has stuck together, on the rink and in working through those sadnesses – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Gaylord St. Mary’s golfer Noah Kole was hospitalized recently after losing feeling in his legs, and the Gaylord Herald Times wished him well this week (and the good news is he’s now recovering and should be ready for this spring) – Gaylord Herald Times