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: 10/6/16
October 6, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Girls Golf Regionals teed off Wednesday with a record performance by arguably the state’s top team, and check out also the detailed coverage of this week’s MHSAA Update Meeting stop in Frankenmuth.
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 Golf
Top-ranked Rochester shot an incredible 289 to win its Lower Peninsula Division 1 Regional, dropping an already-impressive school record by seven more strokes – Oakland Press
Two-time reigning LP Division 3 champion and No. 4-ranked Spring Lake began its three-peat attempt with a Regional victory of 56 strokes – Muskegon Chronicle
Second-year program Shepherd reached the Division 4 Finals for the first time finishing third to Freeland and No. 3 Frankenmuth at their Regional – Saginaw News
No. 5 Brighton didn’t surprise by shooting a 314 to win its Division 1 Regional, but Hartland finished third to make the Finals for the first time – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Boys Tennis
Byron Center claimed what is believed to be its first league championship in the sport, edging Zeeland East by six points at the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green tournament – Grand Rapids Press
Volleyball
Class B honorable mention Saginaw Swan Valley moved into first place alone in the Tri-Valley Conference Central with a sweep of former co-leader Freeland – Saginaw News
Neighbors Marine City (a 3-0 winner) and Class D No. 9 Marine City Cardinal Mooney played Wednesday in a “Purple Out” for pancreatic cancer research and awareness, a cause close to the Mooney program as coach Dennis Caufield’s wife Pat died after fighting the disease two years ago – Port Huron Times Herald
Good Read
The annual MHSAA Update Meeting series visited Frankenmuth this week, and MLive reported well why multi-sport participation and reaching student-athletes during their middle school/junior high years has never been more important – Saginaw News