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: 4/25/19

April 25, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A major soccer matchup tops today’s list of Wednesday’s best headliners, followed by a record-setting upset also on the pitch.

1. Girls Soccer: Division 1 No. 2 Grand Blanc held off Division 2 No. 7 Flint Powers 3-2 in a matchup of teams that played in MHSAA Finals last season – WJRT

2. Girls Soccer: New Baltimore Anchor Bay shut out Division 1 No. 3 Utica Eisenhower 1-0, giving Ally Gaunt 32 shutouts to tie her school’s record – Macomb Daily

3. Baseball: Division 3 No. 3 Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett took Division 2 No. 17 Detroit Country Day to extra innings and won 4-3 – Detroit News

4. Track & Field: Kingsley’s girls, No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 3, edged LPD2 No. 11 Benzie Central’s 91-84, while Benzie’s No. 14 boys won by eight points over the LPD3 No. 7 Stags – Traverse City Record Eagle

5. Track & Field: Jessica Holcomb broke Quincy’s long jump record set in 1982 in helping her team to an 86-51 win over Concord – Coldwater Daily Reporter

6. Boys Lacrosse: Tecumseh edged Dexter 14-11, giving Tecumseh coach Steve Ayre his 100th win – Adrian Daily Telegram

7. Baseball: Pinconning went 10 innings to take a 9-8 win over Division 3 No. 16 Beaverton – Bay City Times

8. Girls Soccer: Division 4 No. 2 Kalamazoo Christian handed Coloma its first loss this season, 6-1 – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

9. Girls Soccer: Alpena handed Gaylord its first loss, 2-1, in what also was the Wildcats’ first league win in nine years – WBKB

10. Baseball: Shawn Kaiser threw Midland Bullock Creek’s second no-hitter in two days in a split with Saginaw Valley Lutheran – Midland Daily News

Also of note …

O-K Conference: The state’s largest league announced its reconfiguration for 2020-21, including the elimination of a division – Grand Rapids Press