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: 9/23/20

September 23, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The official first day of Fall in Michigan saw ranked opponents facing off against some of their toughest opponents to date in volleyball and cross country, plus a league championship tournament in golf.

1. Volleyball: No. 6 Charlevoix won a matchup of Division 3 ranked teams, defeating No. 10 Traverse City St. Francis in five sets – Petoskey News-Review

2. Cross Country: The LPD3 No. 13 Grass Lake girls team handed Hanover-Horton its first league loss since 2015 – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

3. Volleyball: Division 1 No. 10 Traverse City West downed Division 2 No. 6 Cadillac 17-15 in the deciding fifth set for a key league win – Up North Live

4. Cross Country: Pinckney’s boys – ranked No. 13 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – edged LPD1 No. 12 Brighton 26-29, while the No. 4 Brighton girls held off unranked Pinckney’s by the same score – Livingston Daily

5. Volleyball: Rudyard ran its Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference winning streak to 43 matches with a 3-1 win over Pickford – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

6. Girls Golf: Adrian Lenawee Christian shot a 393 to win the Independent Golf League championship tournament – JTV

7. Girls Swimming & Diving: Grand Blanc celebrated seven event winners in a 104-82 team victory over Midland Dow; they are honorable mentions in Divisions 1 and 2, respectively – Midland Daily News

8. Volleyball: Division 3 No. 4 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian came back for a five-set win over Ludington – Local Sports Journal

9. Volleyball: Edwardsburg downed Dowagiac 3-1 in a matchup of first-place teams in the Wolverine Conference – Niles Daily Star

10. Boys Soccer: Chelsea improved to 7-0 with a 2-0 win over Melvindale, the reigning Division 2 runner-up – Ann Arbor News

Also of note …

Boys Tennis: From Monday, Lansing Catholic earned a share of the Capital Area Activities Conference White title with a 7-1 win over Ionia – Greenville Daily News

Boys Basketball: Mark Gainforth retired after 24 seasons coaching Unionville-Sebewaing and with a 423-133 record – Bay City Times