Today in the MHSAA: 11/15/17

November 15, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

Today's Top 10 

1. Volleyball: Reigning champion and top-ranked Bronson will return to the Class C Semifinals after downing No. 2 Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central in four sets in the Quarterfinal – Coldwater Daily Reporter

2. Volleyball: Class B No. 3 Lake Odessa Lakewood went to five sets with No. 4 Niles before emerging with a 15-13 win in the decider and another trip to the Semifinals – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

3. Volleyball: Class A No. 4 DeWitt swept No. 3 Grand Rapids Christian to earn a trip to the Semifinals and matchup with reigning champion Novi – MLive-Lansing

4. Volleyball: Class C No. 10 Wixom St. Catherine earned its first Semifinal berth with a sweep of No. 6 Unionville-Sebewaing – Oakland Press

5. Volleyball: Class D No. 8 Rogers City knocked off yet another ranked opponent, this time No. 10 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart to earn a Quarterfinal win in five sets – Alpena News

6. Volleyball: Honorable mention Munising earned its first Semifinal trip with a four-set win over No. 7 Rudyard in Class D – Marquette Mining Journal

7. Volleyball: Fruitport won the first two sets close and held on to get past Cadillac in four in a matchup of Class B honorable mentions – Grand Haven Tribune

8. Volleyball: After splitting the first two sets, No. 6 Farmington Hills Mercy won the next two to down honorable mention New Baltimore Anchor Bay in four in Class A Oakland Press

9. Volleyball: Class A No. 2 and reigning champion Novi earned a fourth straight trip to the Semifinals with a sweep of honorable mention Temperance Bedford – Observer & Eccentric

10. Volleyball: No. 7 Bloomfield Hills Marian swept honorable mention Midland to make it back to the Class A Semifinals for the first time since 2013 – Oakland Press

Also of note …

Volleyball: No. 6 Fowler swept honorable mention Southfield Christian to move on in Class D – Oakland Press

Volleyball: Laingsburg downed Shelby 3-0 in a Quarterfinal matchup of Class C honorable mentions – Lansing State Journal

Volleyball: Class C No. 8 Calumet also is headed back to the Semifinals, thanks to a sweep of unranked Houghton Lake – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette     

Volleyball: Livonia Ladywood won a Quarterfinal matchup of unranked teams, sweeping Livonia Clarenceville in Class B – Observer & Eccentric

Volleyball: Top-ranked Pontiac Notre Dame Prep swept Corunna to move to 62-2-2 and into the Semifinals – NorthOaklandSports.com

Volleyball: Top-ranked and reigning champion Plymouth Christian downed annual power Battle Creek St. Philip 3-1 in Class D – WWMT

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