Today in the MHSAA: 1/21/20

January 21, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Major matchups at basketball events honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s memory made for a highlight-filled weekend and Monday across Michigan, and girls basketball, wrestling, competitive cheer, hockey and boys swimming & diving also contributed headliners as teams braved the mid-January weather.

1. Boys Basketball: Division 3 Flint Beecher downed Division 1 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 70-61 in a matchup of MHSAA championship contenders – State Champs Sports Network

2. Girls Basketball: Howell handed Brighton its first loss, 43-41, with Maeve St. John connecting on two last-minute free throws – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

3. Wrestling: Division 4 No. 7 Hart defeated No. 6 Leroy Pine River 40-20 in the championship match of the Fallen Bucks Memorial Tournament – Cadillac News

4. Boys Basketball: Grand Rapids Christian remained undefeated with a 66-64 win over Wyoming, which also was unbeaten entering the contest – WOOD TV

5. Girls Basketball: Reeya Patel’s basket with 2.5 seconds to play pushed Ann Arbor Huron past previously-undefeated Temperance Bedford 53-51 – State Champs Sports Network

6. Boys Swimming & Diving: Midland Dow – No. 8 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – locked up its 18th-straight Tri-Cities championship, nearly doubling up the field – Midland Daily News

7. Boys Basketball: Detroit Martin Luther King got past Detroit Douglass 55-46 in a matchup of two more Finals hopefuls – Detroit Free Press

8. Boys Basketball: Emoni Bates led Ypsilanti Lincoln on a 13-2 run to close a 75-68 win over Detroit Edison – Detroit News

9. Hockey: Division 3 No. 10 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central avenged a late December loss to rival Forest Hills Northern/Eastern, winning this time 3-1 – FOX 17

10. Cheer: Stevensville Lakeshore won the Division 2 and overall championships at the Coloma Invitational – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Also of note …

Girls Basketball: Although Niles fell to St. Joseph 59-54, Alycia Patterson went over 1,000 career points – Niles Daily Star

Boys Basketball: Reese Hazelton scored his 1,000th career point on a game-winner to lead Maple City Glen Lake past Saginaw Heritage 51-49 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Girls Basketball: Elise Besonen also went over 1,000 career points in leading Ewen-Trout Creek past Ontonagon – The Upbeat

Today in the MHSAA: 8/24/20

August 24, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Cross country statewide and volleyball, boys soccer and girls swimming & diving in northern Michigan were able to kick off competition over the weekend, bringing a fresh slate of storylines to the return of high school athletics in this state.

1. Cross Country: Bay City Western ran its first dual meets in 21 years, with the boys defeating Freeland and the Freeland girls winning by two in a matchup of possible Finals contenders – Bay City Times

2. Girls Golf: Rockford edged St. Joseph by 11 strokes to win the Sydney Carfine Invitational at The Meadows – Local Sports Journal

3. Boys Tennis: South Lyon freshman Cameron Crosby dominated No. 1 singles in highlighting the season-opening Pinckney quad – Livingston Daily

4. Volleyball: Grand Haven opened with a strong showing at Cadillac, defeating the host Vikings, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern and Coopersville – Grand Haven Tribune

5. Boys Tennis: Big Rapids won back-to-back quads at Ludington and Wyoming – Big Rapids News

6. Volleyball: Petoskey edged Alpena 25-23, 25-19 to win the Sault Ste. Marie Invitational – Alpena News

7. Cross Country: Adrian Lenawee Christian swept championships at the Addison Early Bird Invitational – JTV

8. Girls Tennis: Ishpeming Westwood and Iron Mountain swept their tri-meets as the annual Kingsford Invitational was split into two round-robins to account for COVID-19 restrictions – Iron Mountain Daily News

9. Girls Golf: Parma Western shot a 380 to win its invitational by nine strokes – JTV

10. Boys Soccer: Traverse City Central outscored Manistee and Boyne City by a combined 11-0 during Saturday play – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Also of note …

Football: From last week, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and Muskegon Catholic Central are mourning the death of Cranbrook varsity coach Ben Jones, who died in a car crash; he formerly starred at MCC – Detroit News

Boys Basketball: Clinton Township Chippewa Valley coach Kevin Voss has retired after 38 years coaching basketball – Macomb Daily