Today in the MHSAA: 11/5/18
November 5, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.
In addition to Lower Peninsula Cross Country and Boys Soccer Finals – see coverage all over Second Half – the rest of Michigan’s volleyball District title winners celebrated this weekend, as did a number of league swimming & diving champions including a few who prevailed against loaded state-ranked fields.
1. Volleyball: No. 10 Brighton Charyl Stockwell downed Whitmore Lake in Division 3 for its first District title in any sport – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
2. Girls Swimming & Diving: Holland West Ottawa, tied for No. 10 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, finished atop a field including No. 7 Rockford, No. 9 Grand Haven and T-No. 10 Hudsonville to secure the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red meet and outright titles – Holland Sentinel
3. Volleyball: No. 3 Mattawan swept No. 10 Portage Central to claim a Division 1 District title – WWMT
4. Volleyball: No. 9 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek repeated as a Division 1 District champ with a sweep of Macomb Area Conference Red title winner Utica Eisenhower – Macomb Daily
5. Volleyball: No. 2 Lake Orion won its first District title since 2015 with a sweep of honorable mention Clarkston – Oakland Press
6. Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD1 No. 4 Saline won the Southeastern Conference Red meet ahead of runner-up and No. 6-ranked Ann Arbor Skyline – Saline Post
7. Volleyball: Honorable mention Spring Lake won its first District title since 2013 with a sweep of No. 10 Whitehall in Division 2, with two of three sets decided by two points – Local Sports Journal
8. Volleyball: Onekama locked up its first District title since 2003, downing Bear Lake in Division 4 – Manistee News Advocate
9. Volleyball: Richland Gull Lake won its fourth straight District title, downing honorable mention Battle Creek Lakeview in Division 1 – Battle Creek Enquirer
10. Volleyball: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart earned its sixth straight District title, sweeping McBain Northern Michigan Christian in Division 4 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Also of note …
Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD1 honorable mention Bridgman won the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference meet just ahead of LPD2 No. 9 Portage Central – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD2 No. 5 Midland Dow followed standout Claire Newman to its 13th straight Saginaw Valley League championship – Midland Daily News
Girls Swimming & Diving: Zeeland won big at the O-K Green meet – Holland Sentinel
Football: Boyne City coach Dave Hills stepped down after 21 seasons and with a 125-45 record – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Today in the MHSAA: 1/11/16
January 11, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The first full sports weekend of 2016 included notable performances in a number of sports, highlighted by one of the top swimming and diving meets of the regular season.
Girls Basketball
Ithaca girls basketball coach Bob Anderson earned his 700th win as his team beat Carrollton 66-40; he’s coached both girls and boys teams to success over 27 seasons – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Durand handed Goodrich its first league loss in seven years while staying undefeated this season in the Genesee Area Conference Red – Flint Journal
DeWitt remained undefeated at 8-0 after handing Lansing Waverly its first loss this season in a matchup of two of the Lansing area’s top teams – Lansing State Journal
St. Joseph moved to 6-1 with a 72-35 win over Benton Harbor, a semifinalist in Class B last season – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Saranac was missing its leading scorer, but still managed to get past annual Class D power Portland St. Patrick 41-33 – Ionia Sentinel-Standard
Boys Basketball
Okemos handed Holt its first loss this season and won its first game on the Rams’ home court since 2010 – Lansing State Journal
Ice Hockey
Portage Central earned a win that could boost it into the state rankings, downing Division 1 No. 10 East Kentwood 2-1 on Saturday in Muskegon – Kalamazoo Gazette
Boys Swimming & Diving
Division 2 No. 1 Dexter scored 409 points to beat No. 4 Warren DeLaSalle by 33 at the annual Spartan Invitational at Battle Creek Lakeview, with the field also including reigning champion Birmingham Seaholm and Division 1 contender Ann Arbor Skyline – Battle Creek Enquirer
Lower Peninsula Division 1 honorable mention Grand Rapids Forest Hills defeated a field that included LPD2 No. 6 Midland Dow at the Forest Hills Invitational – Midland Daily News
Wrestling
Unranked Westland John Glenn got past Division 1 No. 9 New Baltimore Anchor Bay to win the Michigan Duals at Bay City Western over a field that also included No. 8 Western and Division 3 No. 5 Remus Chippewa Hills – Mlive-Detroit
Division 2 No. 9 Sparta won the Dave Dunneback Tournament with 247 points, ahead of Lake Odessa Lakewood, Belding and Division 3 No. 6 Grand Rapids Catholic Central – Grand Rapids Press
Football
Mike McDowell returned four seasons ago for his second stint coaching Morenci and led the program to its best finishes in nearly two decades. He recently resigned – Adrian Daily Telegram
Good Reads
Longtime coach Keith Haske remains cancer-free after fighting Stage 4 throat cancer only a year ago – and he’s added significantly to his day, becoming the girls basketball coach in addition to leading the boys program at Traverse City St. Francis. The Record-Eagle’s Brett Sommers documented a typical Haske day – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Carleton Airport senior Jessica Book is her school’s Homecoming Queen this year – and a cheerleader – and a wrestler – and plans to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps and defuse bombs – Monroe Evening News