Today in the MHSAA: 1/20/16

January 20, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Buzzer beaters and milestone basketball victories made headlines all over Michigan today, and check out as well a moving video that tells of the importance of our national anthem.

Girls Basketball

Reigning Class C champion Calumet added another accomplishment to the long list with its first win over Houghton since 1999, 44-31 – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Three Rivers’ sophomore Arionne Fowlkes went baseline to baseline for a last-second layup to give her team a 43-41 win over Niles – Niles Daily Star

Class A favorite Saginaw Heritage remained undefeated with a 53-38 win over rival Midland Dow, also ranked in Class A – Saginaw News

One-loss St. Ignace handed Newberry its first defeat of the season, 64-57 – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Cedar Springs also knocked a team from the unbeaten ranks, with Sam Taylor’s 3-pointer in the closing seconds ending Kent City’s perfect run, 50-47 – Grand Rapids Press

Muskegon edged East Kentwood 50-47 after trailing by 10 and on the strength of 26 points and 22 rebounds by senior Mardrekia Cook – Muskegon Chronicle

Boys Basketball

Despite being outscored 30-22 in the fourth quarter, Southfield Christian held on for an 82-79 win over Southfield – MLive-Detroit

Merrill earned its first win since 2013 by downing Coleman 49-36 – Midland Daily News

One-loss Alma handed previously-undefeated Ithaca its first, 56-53, as Dylan Carl hit 3-pointers to send the game to overtime and then win it – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Muskegon Oakridge’s Brady Luttrull drilled a 3-pointer during the final seconds to push his team past Scottville Mason County Central 67-66 – Muskegon Chronicle

Cassopolis followed a strong third quarter by Deoin Gatson to hand Niles Brandywine its first loss, 61-47 – Niles Daily Leader

One-loss Clarkston also handed out a first loss Tuesday, to Rochester Adams, in a matchup of top Class A teams – Oakland Press

Caleb Brown’s only basket for Northport was the game winner during the final seconds of a 51-49 victory over Central Lake – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Nate Dugener’s sixth 3-pointer of the game gave Muskegon Western Michigan Christian a 52-49 win over Holland Christian – Grand Haven Tribune

Boys Swimming & Diving

In a matchup of top teams on the west side of the Lower Peninsula, Division 1 No. 6 Zeeland got past Division 2 honorable mention Holland 104-73 – Holland Sentinel

Worth Watching

We ran across and were moved by Virginia Tech’s honoring of veterans at the start of this men’s basketball season. Check out this meaningful presentation and how it relates to providing proper respect during The Star-Spangled Banner.

Today in the MHSAA: 2/4/19

February 4, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

This weekend saw the first Michigan girls wrestling state champions awarded, a rematch of last season’s Division 2 Hockey Final and two top-ranked bowling teams face off – and that's just a sampling of the headliners.

1. Wrestling: The Michigan Wrestling Association awarded 15 championships at its first Girls Wrestling Finals – Adrian Daily Telegram | MLive

2. Gymnastics – Reigning MHSAA champion Farmington United finished more than three points ahead of the field at the Canton Invitational, generally considered the most competitive event of the regular season – Coldwater Daily Reporter

3. Hockey: No. 2-ranked Trenton downed No. 1 Hartland in a rematch of last season’s Division 2 Final, this time at the Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League Showcase – Southgate News-Herald

4. Girls Basketball: Midland Dow upset reigning Class A champion Saginaw Heritage 52-48, handing the Hawks their first defeat this winter – Midland Daily News

5. Bowling: Sturgis downed Three Rivers 29-1 in a matchup of the top-ranked boys teams in Divisions 2 and 3, respectively – Sturgis Journal

6. Wrestling: Division 1 No. 2 Brighton, No. 5 Hartland and No. 4 Westland John Glenn took the top three places, respectively, at the Kensington Lakes Activities Association tournament – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

7. Boys Basketball: Benton Harbor’s Carlos Johnson and Ypsilanti Lincoln’s Emoni Bates both scored 35 points in the Tigers’ 86-83 win at Grand Rapids Union – FOX 17

8. Wrestling: Division 4 No. 9 Bronson claimed the Big 8 Conference championship outright, its first league title in the sport – Coldwater Daily Reporter

9. Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD1 No. 4 Detroit Catholic Central repeated as Oakland County meet champion – Oakland Press

10. Wrestling: Brownstown Woodhaven clinched the outright Downriver League championship after sharing the title the last two seasons – Southgate News-Herald

Also of note …

Boys Swimming & Diving: Warren DeLaSalle, No. 8 in Lower Peninsula Division 2, edged Macomb Dakota to claim the Macomb County meet championship – Macomb Daily

Wrestling: Division 4 No. 2 New Lothrop, Division 2 No. 3 Goodrich and Holly won Flint-area league tournaments titles – Flint Journal

Wrestling: Parma Western clinched the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference championship – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Wrestling: Edwardsburg, Division 2 No. 7 Niles, White Pigeon and Schoolcraft earned league tournament titles in the southwestern Lower Peninsula – JoeInsider.com

Wrestling: Iron Mountain won the Mid-Peninsula Conference tournament title – Iron Mountain Daily News

Boys Basketball: St. Clair Shores Lake Shore downed Utica to clinch the outright Macomb Area Conference Blue title – Macomb Daily

Wrestling: Division 3 No. 4 Remus Chippewa Hills had five individual champs and Division 4 No. 8 Leroy Pine River won a team title in more league tournament action – Big Rapids News

Girls Basketball: From Thursday, Cierra Molina became the fifth player to score 1,000 career points for Rudyard, reaching the milestone against Brimley – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News