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: 5/8/19

May 8, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Three more league champions were crowned Tuesday, topped by a boys lacrosse team that could be picking up just the first of multiple titles this spring.

1. Boys Lacrosse: Division 2 top-ranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central locked up a league title with a 16-8 win over Division 1 No. 3 Rockford – FOX 17

2. Girls Tennis: Holland Christian, No. 7 in Lower Peninsula Division 3, locked up the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green regular-season title with a 6-2 win over former co-leader Byron Center – Holland Sentinel

3. Girls Soccer: Lake Orion earned a share of the Oakland Activities Association Blue title with a 1-1 draw with Birmingham Groves – Oakland Press

4. Baseball: Division 1 No. 11 Rockford edged No. 17 Grand Haven 3-1 and 2-1 in league play – Grand Haven Tribune

5. Baseball: Bay City Western earned an impressive sweep, 3-0 and 6-3, over Division 2 No. 6 Saginaw Swan Valley – Midland Daily News

6. Baseball: Alec Azar was among stars as Division 3 No. 3 Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett swept Madison Heights Bishop Foley – Detroit News

7. Track & Field: Ella Block set a school pole vault record to help Romeo’s girls get past Utica Eisenhower – Macomb Daily

8. Baseball: Keegan Spomer threw a no-hitter to highlight Alpena’s sweep of Traverse City West – Alpena News

9. Softball: North Adams-Jerome held on to first place in its league with a sweep of second-place Waldron – Hillsdale Daily News

10. Girls Soccer: Petoskey dealt Traverse City West its first loss of this season, 1-0 – Petoskey News-Review