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: 4/17/17

April 17, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The first full weekend of this spring saw tournament action all over the state, with an especially notable softball tournament at Saginaw Swan Valley.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state. 

Baseball

Longtime Comstock coach Rich Bailey earned his 500th win with his team’s 2-0 victory over Hopkins; Comstock is No. 10 in Division 3 – Kalamazoo Gazette

Zeeland East won the Holland West Ottawa Invitational by scoring a combined 50 runs over three games – Holland Sentinel

Division 1 No. 5 Midland and No. 12 Mount Pleasant split a Thursday doubleheader that should impact the Saginaw Valley League race – Midland Daily News

Boys Golf

Hartland won the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Lakes preseason tournament, led by a pair of individual runners-up – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Girls Soccer

Cadillac won the Holland Invitational, downing Black River and then the host in the championship match – Cadillac News

Softball

Escanaba improved to 6-1 to continue to make good on its No. 2 ranking in Division 2, going 3-1 at the Saginaw Swan Valley Invitational with wins over Ogemaw Heights, Lake Fenton and Division 1 top-ranked Midland before falling 7-6 to host and D2 No. 3-ranked Swan Valley in a rematch of last season’s Division 2 Quarterfinal – Escanaba Daily Press

Division 1 honorable mention Mount Pleasant also earned a win from top-ranked Midland, splitting a Thursday doubleheader – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Division 4 No. 3 Rogers City opened its season with wins over DeWitt, St. Johns and Mason to win the East Lansing Invitational against much larger competition – Alpena News

The host Dragons, No. 7 in Division 1, downed honorable mention Oxford 1-0 to win their Lake Orion Invitational – Oakland Press

Girls Tennis

Division 2 top-ranked East Grand Rapids and Division 3 No. 1 Detroit Country Day tied for the championship at the prestigious Allegan Invitational – Grand Rapids Press

Track & Field

The Adrian Madison girls followed Megan Rosales’ dominating performance in winning the Grass Lake Invitational – Adrian Daily Telegram

The Saugatuck boys and Hudsonville girls were overall champions at the Muskegon Reeths-Puffer Invitational – Muskegon Chronicle