Today in the MHSAA: 1/14/19

January 14, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Highly-ranked contenders faced off in a number of sports over the weekend, with our list of high achievers led by a matchup of top wrestling teams from neighboring states and top swimming and hockey teams re-igniting familiar rivalries.

1. Wrestling: Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central finished 4-0 at its Super Duals with wins Indiana’s top-ranked Indianapolis Cathedral, Division 3 No. 1 Dundee, Brownstown Woodhaven and Culver Academics (Ind.) – Observer & Eccentric

2. Boys Swimming & Diving: Two days after falling to No. 2 East Grand Rapids in a dual, top-ranked Holland Christian finished ahead of the Pioneers to claim the D3 Invitational championship – Holland Sentinel

3. Hockey: No. 4 Warren DeLaSalle got past No. 1 Detroit U-D Jesuit in a matchup of top teams in Division 3 – Macomb Daily

4. Hockey: Division 2 No. 1 Hartland downed Detroit U-D Jesuit on Friday and followed up with a 3-0 win over Division 1 No. 5 Salem on Saturday – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

5. Hockey: Division 3 No. 6 Houghton earned an impressive 3-1 win over Division 2 No. 4 Birmingham Brother Rice – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

6. Gymnastics: Rockford finished first and Bloomfield Hills second at the annual Lowell Invitational – Coldwater Daily Reporter

7. Bowling: Sturgis and Bronson’s boys teams won their division championships at the Battle of the Bakers at M-66 Bowl in Battle Creek – Sturgis Journal

8. Hockey: Division 3 No. 5 Detroit Country Day rallied to get past No. 11 Grosse Pointe South 5-3 – Oakland Press

9. Wrestling: Led by standout Adam Bruce, Gladstone edged Ishpeming Westwood for the Kingsford Ray Mariucci Invitational title – Escanaba Daily Press

10. Wrestling: Division 3 No. 6 Birch Run finished first and Chesaning second at the Saginaw County Invitational – WEYI

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: Jake Burger went over 1,000 career points although Pittsford fell 49-39 to unbeaten Bellevue – Hillsdale Daily News

Football: Grand Rapids South Christian coach Mark Tamminga announced his retirement after 10 years leading the program and guiding the Sailors to two Division 4 titles – Grand Rapids Press

Today in the MHSAA: 10/18/19

October 18, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

One of the most intriguing league cross country title races in some time came to a conclusion Thursday as a number of state-ranked girls and boys teams ran to be the best in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association.

1. Cross Country: Brighton’s girls – No. 5 in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – finished ahead of No. 2 Northville and No. 6 Salem to win the Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship meet, and Brighton’s top-ranked boys won their first league meet since 1995 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

2. Boys Soccer: No. 3 Marshall scored all of its goals during the final 12 minutes to come back and defeat Coldwater 3-2 in a Division 2 District Final – WWMT

3. Boys Soccer: No. 2 Troy Athens shut out No. 8 Berkley 3-0 to clinch a Division 1 District championship – Oakland Press

4. Boys Soccer: Division 3 No. 2 Hudsonville Unity Christian locked up its sixth straight District title with a 7-0 win over No. 6 Wyoming Lee – FOX 17

5. Cross Country: The LPD1 No. 5 Saline boys clinched the Southeastern Conference Red title with a second place at the final league jamboree, and the top-ranked Ann Arbor Pioneer girls won their race and league championship – Saline Post Boys | Girls

6. Boys Soccer: No. 7 Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep needed overtime but got past No. 9 Hillsdale Academy 2-1 in a Division 4 District Final – JoeInsider.com

7. Cross Country: Romeo and Marysville swept their divisions of the Macomb Area Conference championship meet, with Port Huron Northern’s boys and St. Clair’s girls also victorious; Romeo’s boys are No. 2 in LPD1 and Romeo’s girls are No. 14 – Athletic.net

8. Boys Soccer: Gladwin improved to 20-2-2 and won its first District title in this sport since 2015 with a 1-0 victory over Essexville Garber in Division 3 – Bay City Times

9. Boys Soccer: Dearborn’s second-half surge resulted in a 5-1 Division 1 District title win over Downriver League champion Brownstown Woodhaven – Southgate News-Herald

10. Boys Soccer: Bad Axe improved to 11-4-3 with a 4-2 Division 4 District Final win over Saginaw Valley Lutheran – Huron Daily Tribune