Today in the MHSAA: 1/15/16

January 15, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Thursday provided a substantial appetizer for another big weekend with key basketball games, noteworthy swimming and diving finishes and a milestone wrestling victory.

Boys Basketball

Clarkston earned a key Oakland Activities Association Red edge with a win over similarly state-ranked North Farmington, 60-47 – Oakland Press

Frankfort earned a similarly important win in Northwest Conference play, winning a matchup of Class D ranked teams 65-55 over Buckley – Traverse City Record-Eagle

For the second straight day, a basketball team made an incredible comeback; this time, it was East Jackson building off a 21-2 deficit at the end of the first quarter to beat Napoleon 42-39 – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Olivet junior Delbert Redfield made nine of 11 3-point tries and scored 33 points total to lead the Eagles to a 73-55 win over Lansing Christian – MLive Lansing

Girls Basketball

Warren Cousino handed Grosse Pointe North the latter’s first loss this season, 64-58, to move to 9-1 overall – Macomb Daily

Boys Swimming & Diving

Lower Peninsula Division 3 honorable mention Spring Lake downed No. 4 Hamilton, No. 5 Grand Rapids Christian and Division 2 honorable mention Holland in its best meet of a strong run so far – Grand Haven Tribune

Wrestling

Leslie defeated Olivet (and also lost to Lake Odessa Lakewood) on Thursday, giving Blackhawks coach Todd Stern his 400th career win since taking over as head coach in 1987 – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Good Reads

Battle of the Fans V kicks off tonight with our first visit to Yale, a finalist as well in 2015 – Port Huron Times-Herald

Grand Haven’s basketball teams will return to their former gym now part of Lakeshore Middle School – Pirates Pit – on Feb. 6 and for the first time since 2007 as the high school gym will be used for the league wrestling meet – Grand Haven Tribune

Vanderbilt’s boys basketball team has one win this season, but it was the first in nearly two years and a testament to the rebuilding of the program under first-year coach Darren Conn and assistant Amie Byelich – Petoskey News

Today in the MHSAA: 10/21/19

October 21, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Fourteen more MHSAA Finals celebrated champions this weekend, and you’ll find coverage of all 10 events all over Second Half. Also making headlines across the state were District Finals in boys soccer, and league finals and notable invitationals in cross country and volleyball. 

1. Boys Soccer: Division 2 No. 15 Gaylord downed Alpena 2-1 to claim its first District title in this sport – Gaylord Herald Times

2. Boys Soccer: Clarkston Everest Collegiate also claimed its first District title with a 2-0 win over Auburn Hills Oakland Christian in Division 4 – Oakland Press

3. Cross Country: Coldwater’s girls clinched the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference title, their first league title since 1987. Marshall and Battle Creek Harper Creek shared the boys championship – Coldwater Daily Reporter 

4. Cross Country: The Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart boys – No. 6 in Lower Peninsula Division 4 – and No. 4 Hillsdale Academy girls won the “Class D State Meet” hosted annually by the Irish, Hillsdale Academy upsetting the LPD4 top-ranked Sacred Heart girls – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

5.  Boys soccer: Ann Arbor Pioneer won a Division 1 District title in a shootout against No. 13 Saline – We Love Ann Arbor

6. Boys Soccer: Muskegon Reeths-Puffer upset No. 13 Spring Lake in a shootout win to claim a Division 2 District title – Local Sports Journal 

7. Volleyball: Division 3 No. 6 Centreville came back to defeat Division 4 No. 3 Mendon in three sets in the final of the Southwest 10 Conference Tournament to add that championship to its regular-season title – Sturgis Journal 

8. Volleyball: Fruitport downed Montague in five sets to claim the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association championship – Local Sports Journal

9. Cross Country: Saginaw Heritage swept the Saginaw County Championships – Athletic.net

10. Boys Soccer: Traverse City West downed rival Central for the third time this season, 3-0 in a Division 1 District Final – Traverse City Record-Eagle