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: 2/16/17

February 16, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

An action-packed Wednesday saw the final 32 wrestling contenders advance with Regional titles, including DeWitt for the first time and Hartland for the 16th straight.

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. 

Girls Basketball

The Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan has released its five finalists for this season’s Miss Basketball Award – Detroit Free Press

Boys Basketball

In a matchup of teams both now 12-3, Negaunee emerged as overtime winner over Gladstone 75-71 – Marquette Mining Journal

Bowling

Fruitport’s girls and Muskegon Mona Shores’ boys won Greater Muskegon Athletic Association championships – Muskegon Chronicle

Hockey

Chelsea downed Ann Arbor Skyline 5-4 to clinch its 10th straight Southeastern Conference title – Ann Arbor News

Hartland, ranked No. 2 in Division 2, added a win over Division 1 No. 2 Detroit Catholic Central 4-2 and has beaten all three of the top-ranked teams in Division 1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Skiing

The East Grand Rapids boys and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central girls won Division 2 Regional titles as both Cadillac teams also advanced – Cadillac News

Wrestling

Caro came back from a 24-point deficit in its Division 3 Regional Semifinal against Beaverton and went on to defeat the Beavers and Ogemaw Heights and win the title – Saginaw News

Division 2 No. 7 DeWitt won its first Regional title in wrestling, avenging an earlier loss to No. 10 Mason with a 48-17 win – Lansing State Journal

Division 1 No. 5 and reigning MHSAA champion Hartland earned a trip to the Quarterfinals for the 16th straight season, downing No. 8 Walled Lake Central and Warren Mott after losing to Central earlier this winter – Detroit Free Press

No. 3 Macomb Dakota edged No. 9 New Baltimore Anchor Bay 31-23 to also move on in Division 1 – Macomb Daily

No. 7 Carson City-Crystal downed St. Louis and Hart by a combined eight points to advance in Division 4 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Good Read

In the midst of ramping up to make a run at repeating as Class B champion, Marshall’s girls basketball team also has found itself in another fight after sophomore Maddie Reynolds was diagnosed recently with cancer – Battle Creek Enquirer