Today in the MHSAA: 11/30/16
November 30, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Although a handful of teams kicked off girls basketball season Monday, the majority took the court for the first time Tuesday – and wasted little time delivering dramatic finishes and a look at some of what we can expect this winter.
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
Otsego, which won 20 games last season, opened with a nail-biting 33-31 victory over Portage Northern – Kalamazoo Gazette
Jordan Walker scored 33 points as Muskegon Mona Shores downed Grand Rapids Catholic Central 59-52 in a matchup of expected state contenders – Grand Rapids Press
Beecher came back in the fourth quarter to force overtime, but Flint Southwestern emerged with a 42-41 victory – Flint Journal
Reigning Class B runner-up Grand Rapids South Christian also started with a close win, 38-35 over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern – Grand Rapids Press
In another low-scoring opener, Bay City Central just edged Traverse City West 32-31 – Bay City Times
Frankenmuth came back from an 11-point deficit to edge Bullock Creek 40-38 – Saginaw News
Lansing Catholic trailed Perry by six points at halftime but came on to win by 28, 56-28 – Lansing State Journal
Charlevoix freshman Elise Stuck had 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead her team to a 43-39 win over Petoskey – Petoskey News Review
Belding’s Hallee Breimayer put up 32 points in her team’s 57-52 win over reigning Greater Lansing Activities Conference champion Lake Odessa Lakewood – Ionia Sentinel-Standard
Edwardsburg, coming off a District title last season, survived a 37-32 opener against Niles – South Bend Tribune
Southfield Arts & Technology won its first game since the merger of Southfield and Southfield-Lathrup this fall, 64-43 over Birmingham Groves – Oakland Press
Ice Hockey
Hancock continued another strong start with a 5-0 defeat of rival Houghton – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
Softball
Gladstone coach Ashley Hughes, who led the Braves to the Division 3 championship in her first season in 2014 and the Semifinals this spring, has resigned amid sad circumstances – Escanaba Daily Press
Today in the MHSAA: 2/22/16
February 22, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A loaded weekend included Upper Peninsula Swimming & Diving Finals, Cheer Districts, Wrestling Individual Regionals and title-deciding matchups in girls and boys basketball – plus key contests in just about every MHSAA sport.
Girls Basketball
What’s become one of the top girls basketball rivalries in the state added another incredible chapter as Haslett beat DeWitt 61-59 in triple overtime in a matchup of Class A ranked teams – Lansing State Journal
Despite a nearly new cast this season, Bloomfield Hills Marian completed a Detroit Catholic League A-B championship with a 48-29 win over rival Farmington Hills Mercy in the tournament final – Oakland Press
Detroit Martin Luther King won its fifth straight Detroit Public School League title, just edging Detroit Renaissance 68-66 – Detroit Free Press
Despite a three-point loss to Saginaw, Addyson Tomczak became the second player in Bay City Central girls basketball history to score more than 1,000 career points – Bay City Times
Holt’s Kamrin Reed went over 1,000 career points recently against Okemos, and despite missing her junior season with a torn knee ligament – Lansing State Journal
Boys Basketball
Detroit East English continued to ride the strong play of Jaylin McFaddin and Kamari Newman to its first Detroit Public School League championship with an 86-62 win over Detroit Renaissance – Detroit News
St. Ignace clinched the Straits Area Conference title and Gage Kreski went over 2,000 points for his career in a 84-59 win over Newberry – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News
Frankfort finished its first back-to-back league titles since 1961-62, winning the Northwest Conference with a 50-48 win over Buckley – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Bowling
Portage Northern edged Portage Central 17-13 thanks in part to a 499 Baker series that ranks among the state’s best this season – Kalamazoo Gazette
Competitive Cheer
Reigning Division 4 champion Breckenridge took its first step toward a repeat, finishing first at the District at Ithaca – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Ice Hockey
Division 2 No. 10 Escanaba and Division 3 No. 3 Calumet finished tied in a matchup of two of the highest-ranked teams from the Upper Peninsula – Escanaba Daily Press
Jackson, No. 13 in Division 1, swept rival Jackson Lumen Christi for the first time, winning the second game this season 4-3 – Jackson Citizen-Patriot
Midland Dow, No. 14 in Division 2, came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat No. 4 Romeo 5-4 – Midland Daily News
Swimming and Diving
The Gladstone girls won their first MHSAA championship, riding a strong finish to stay ahead of Houghton and Marquette – Second Half
The Marquette boys won their third straight MHSAA title with a number of U.P. Finals record performances – Second Half
Wrestling
From a loaded Individual Regional at Byron Center, Lowell sent 11 wrestlers on to the MHSAA Finals and Allegan sent seven – Grand Rapids Press
Saginaw Swan Valley’s K.J. Suitor broke his school’s wins record with his 219th in winning a Division 3 Regional title at Richmond – Saginaw News
Good Read
We’ve gotten to see Yale superintendent Kenneth Nicholl in action as an administrator during the last two Battles of the Fans, and he’s also one of our state’s top high school wrestling officials – Port Huron Times Herald
Former MHSAA Representative Council member Bob Doctor has been selected for the Petoskey Athletic Hall of Fame. Doctor was on the Council during the early 1970s and was the school's longtime principal – Petoskey News