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: 10/7/15
October 7, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A record-setting cross country run tops today’s sampling of headline makers from across Michigan, and we finish the list with an intriguing boys basketball coaching hire.
Cross Country
Mount Pleasant’s Mac LaBelle broke a school record set in 1983 by running a 16:07.3 to win the DeWitt Invitational earlier this season; he went 15:58.73 on Tuesday – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
The first-year Engadine cross country program, featured three weeks ago on Second Half, hosted its first home meet Tuesday – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News
Girls Golf
Adrian Madison, which debuted in the state poll this week at No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 4, won the Lenawee County Tournament by 51 strokes with a score of 364 – Adrian Daily Telegram
Boys Soccer
Division 2 No. 2 Mattawan defeated Division 1 No. 8 Portage Central in a matchup of one-loss teams and with a berth in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference final on the line – Kalamazoo Gazette
Sixth-seeded and unranked Grand Ledge upset third-seeded and Division 2 No. 5 Mason 3-2 in the first round of Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup play – Mlive-Lansing
Volleyball
Class A No. 8 Birmingham Seaholm edged honorable mention Clarkston 3-2, defeating the Wolves in league play for the first time since 2005 – Oakland Press
Boys Basketball
Battle Creek Central has named former Albion coach Durant Crum as the program’s new leader; Crum led Albion teams to Class B Semifinals and Class C Quarterfinals over 11 seasons before that school closed in 2013 – Battle Creek Enquirer