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: 5/9/19

May 9, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Tennis, track & field and lacrosse teams continued to close out league titles Wednesday as those three sports approach the starts of their MHSAA postseasons next week.

1. Girls Tennis: Holland West Ottawa, No. 7 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, edged No. 6 Rockford to lock up half of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red championship – Holland Sentinel

2. Girls Soccer: Division 1 No. 2 Midland finished a perfect run through the Saginaw Valley League North with a 2-1 win over rival Dow – Midland Daily News

3. Girls Soccer: With a 1-1 draw against Division 2 No. 3 Richland Gull Lake, Portage Central locked up the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference regular-season title – WWMT

4. Girls Tennis: LPD3 No. 6 Grand Rapids Catholic Central downed Spring Lake to clinch half the title in the O-K Blue – Grand Rapids Press

5. Track & Field: The LPD4 top-ranked Pittsford girls and No. 6 Hillsdale Academy boys repeated as Southern Central Athletic Association East champions – Hillsdale Daily News

6. Boys Lacrosse: Hartland, No. 5 in Division 1 entering the week, downed Plymouth 14-5 in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association title game – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

7. Baseball: Division 2 No. 14 Essexville Garber scored a sweep of Division 3 No. 19 Pinconning, 3-0 and 6-2 – Bay City Times

8. Boys Golf: LPD2 No. 3 Gaylord continued to surge with a win at the Big North Invitational, shooting a 323 – Gaylord Herald Times

9. Boys Lacrosse: Traverse City United followed up an earlier one-goal win over Petoskey with an 11-10 overtime victory in the rematch – MI Sports Now

10. Boys Golf: Spring Lake shot a 159 to maintain first place in the O-K Blue with a nine-stroke league win – Grand Haven Tribune

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: Coach Jacob Polfus stepped down with a 169-75 record after 11 seasons leading Carney-Nadeau, including guiding a trip to the Class D Semifinals in 2012 – Escanaba Daily Press