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: 10/17/16

October 17, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A busy championship weekend ended with two first-time MHSAA Finals golf winners, the end to a near-decade run in tennis, favorites winning in cross country and surprises claiming titles in volleyball.

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.

Cross Country

Corunna’s boys followed standout Noah Jacobs to a Greater Lansing Invitational repeat championship, while Lansing Catholic claimed the girls title paced by a dominant run by Olivia Theis – Lansing State Journal (Boys/Girls)

The Grosse Ile boys and Wyandotte Roosevelt girls won Southgate News-Herald championships – Southgate News-Herald (Boys/Girls)

The Macomb Dakota boys won their third straight Macomb County title, and Romeo won the girls title while Macomb L’Anse Creuse North’s Karenna Duffey won the individual girls championship for the third time – Macomb Daily (Boys/Girls)

The Blissfield girls and Tecumseh boys won Lenawee County cross country championships – Adrian Daily Telegram

The Sturgis girls and Detroit Catholic Central boys won the Division 1-2 race at the 52nd Kiwanis Invitational in Sturgis, while Bronson’s boys and Quincy’s girls won the Division 3-4 race – Sturgis Journal/Coldwater Daily Reporter

Girls Golf

Rochester, Midland Dow, Spring Lake and Macomb Lutheran North won MHSAA Lower Peninsula championships Saturday, Dow and Lutheran North for the first time and Spring Lake for the third straight season – Second Half

Boys Tennis

Ann Arbor Huron, Midland Dow, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett won Lower Peninsula championships as well, with Liggett ending Ann Arbor Greenhills’ eight-year run in Division 4 – Second Half

Volleyball

Unranked Muskegon Mona Shores swept Class B No. 8 Fruitport to win the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association championship – Muskegon Chronicle

Unranked Battle Creek Lakeview downed Class B No. 6 Harper Creek in three sets to win its first All-City championship since 2007 – Battle Creek Enquirer

Calumet downed host Houghton to win the Gremlins’ invitational – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Class A honorable mention Niles won its sixth straight tournament, downing Comstock, Galesburg-Augusta, Decatur, Kalamazoo Hackett and host Loy Norrix in the final – Niles Daily Star

Class D No. 10 Pittsford swept No. 5 North Adams-Jerome to win the Jonesville “Think Pink” Tournament – Hillsdale Daily News

Adrian Madison downed Adrian in the final to claim the Lenawee County Tournament title – Adrian Daily Telegram