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: 8/24/15
August 24, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
All MHSAA fall sports but football kicked off competition last week, with cross country, boys soccer, girls swimming and diving and volleyball starting Saturday.
Below are some notable headlines from the first weekend of this season, plus links to coverage.
Cross Country
St. Johns hosted its second “Under the Lights” meets Friday; Ithaca’s girls and Saugatuck’s boys bested fields loaded with much larger opponents – Lansing State Journal
The St. Joseph girls and Bridgman boys won championships at the Niles Stampede – the St. Joseph girls, who finished fourth in Lower Peninsula Division 2 last season, by a large margin – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Girls Golf
Maple City Glen Lake’s Nichole Cox, last season’s LP Division 4 individual champion, came back to defeat Brighton freshman Annie Pietila at the two-day Lober Invitational at Grand Traverse Resort – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Boys Soccer
Two of the state’s powers met in the championship game of the Detroit Country Day Tournament on Saturday – with 2013 Division 1 runner-up Bloomfield Hills downing the host Yellowjackets 1-0 in a shootout – Oakland Press
Girls Swimming & Diving
Howell won its Kenzie Klassic, which honors swimmer Mackenize Watts, who died in 2005 at age 15. The school also raised enough money to award three scholarships and begin funding cardiac-related causes – Livingston Daily
Volleyball
Novi won the Lakeshore Classic by coming back after losing the first two games to beat Grand Haven 3-2 in a rematch of a 2014 Class A Semifinal – Muskegon Chronicle
Battle Creek Harper Creek, for the first time, won the gold championship at the long-running Carrie Adams Memorial Tournament hosted by reigning Class D champion Battle Creek St. Philip – Battle Creek Enquirer
Good Read
Mike Steele, a Midland Dow grad and now pitching coach at Long Beach State in California, argues that parents need to raise their athletes to compete instead of providing specific training in one sport – Midland Daily News