Today in the MHSAA: 11/9/18

November 9, 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.

Thursday’s 32 Volleyball Regional Finals saw the elimination of 12 top-10 teams but all eight contenders ranked No. 1 or 2 move on as next week’s Quarterfinals were set.

1. Volleyball: No. 2 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep downed No. 3 North Branch in a power-packed Division 2 Regional title matchup – Oakland Press

2. Volleyball: Reigning Class C champion and current top-ranked Bronson moved on in Division 3 with a 3-2 Regional title win over No. 3 Schoolcraft – Sturgis Journal

3. Volleyball: Top-ranked Farmington Hills Mercy continued its run this fall over rival and No. 6 Bloomfield Hills Marian with a Division 1 Regional Final sweep – Oakland Press

4. Volleyball: Unranked Richland Gull Lake avenged two sweeps by No. 3 Mattawan this season with a 3-1 Regional Final win in Division 1 – Kalamazoo Gazette

5. Volleyball: No. 2 Lake Orion swept league rival and No. 9 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek for a Division 1 Regional title – Oakland Press

6. Volleyball: No. 2 Mendon came back from dropping the first set to clinch a Division 4 Regional title with a four-set win over No. 5 Battle Creek St. Philip – Sturgis Journal

7. Volleyball: Honorable mention Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian continued a title-filled run with a 3-1 win over No. 7 North Muskegon in a Division 3 Regional Final – Grand Rapids Press

8. Volleyball: No. 7 Adrian Lenawee Christian came back from a two-set deficit to down No. 3 Camden-Frontier in a Division 4 Regional Final – Adrian Daily Telegram

9. Volleyball: Honorable mention Onaway came back from losing the first set to upset No. 10 Rudyard in five in a Division 4 Regional Final – Alpena News

10. Volleyball: Kingsley won its first Regional since 2009 and ended Cadillac’s streak at nine with a sweep in a Division 2 matchup of honorable mention teams – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Also of note …

Volleyball: No. 5 Manchester swept Bath in Division 3 to earn its first Regional title in 25 years – Jackson Citizen Patriot

Volleyball: Kingston downed No. 8 Merrill in Division 4 to clinch its first Regional title in this sport – Saginaw News

Football: Central Lake coach Rob Heeke has announced his retirement; he led the team to the 8-player Division 1 title in 2017 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Today in the MHSAA: 1/7/19

January 7, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

The first weekend of 2019 saw statewide powers meet in gymnastics, wrestling, swimming & diving, hockey and basketball, with the following 10 just a sample of headlining action from across the state.

1. Gymnastics: Reigning MHSAA team champion Farmington United edged host Rockford to win the Rams’ annual Flip Flop Invitational – Coldwater Daily Reporter

2. Wrestling: Reigning Division 1 champ and top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central took first, and 2018 Division 1 runner-up and current No. 2 Brighton was second at the 55th Annual Catholic Central Wrestling Invitational – Oakland Press

3. Boys Swimming & Diving: Saline, No. 7 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, edged LPD2 top-ranked Dexter to win the Battle Creek Lakeview Spartan Invitational – Chelsea Sun Times News

4. Hockey: Division 3 No. 5 Calumet scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period to get past Division 1 No. 5 Brighton 2-1 – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

5. Hockey: Division 2 No. 4 Livonia Stevenson improved to 10-1-1 with a 5-1 win over Division 1 No. 3 Salem – Observer & Eccentric

6. Girls Basketball: Greenville’s Adele Kemp broke her school’s career scoring record with 35 more points in a 48-41 win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern – Grand Rapids Press

7. Wrestling: Division 2 No. 6 Gaylord improved to 14-0 with wins over Croswell-Lexington, formerly Division 1-ranked Grand Ledge and Hudsonville, Division 3 No. 10 Lake Odessa Lakewood and Portland at Grand Ledge’s invitational – Gaylord Herald Times

8. Wrestling: Division 4 No. 2 New Lothrop took first among 26 teams at its Hall of Fame Tournament – Owosso Argus-Press

9. Hockey: Division 3 No. 12 Midland Dow defeated No. 14 Sault Ste. Marie and then No. 8 Alpena to go 2-0 at the Sault Lions Cup Invitational – Midland Daily News

10. Boys Basketball: Detroit Martin Luther King edged Kalamazoo Central 45-43 in a thriller at the Muskegon Basketball Showcase – FOX 17