Today in the MHSAA: 12/13/19

December 13, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Matchups close to home in boys swimming & diving and girls basketball stood out most from Thursday’s headliners across the state, but one of the biggest newsmakers of the week came this morning from Rockford football.

1. Boys Swimming & Diving: Williamston/Lansing Christian won the annual Waverly Relays as the top three teams were separated by just six points – Lansing State Journal

2. Girls Basketball: Ann Arbor Huron downed Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 62-49 in a matchup of teams with high expectations this winter – Ann Arbor News

3. Boys Swimming & Diving: Grand Haven got past Spring Lake 110-71; Spring Lake is ranked No. 5 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – Grand Haven Tribune

4. Girls Basketball: Neveah Benavides’ basket during the closing seconds gave Saginaw Arthur Hill a 48-46 win over Saginaw High – Saginaw News

5. Girls Basketball: Adrian Lenawee Christian won a matchup of frequent small-school powers, 64-30 over Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes – Adrian Daily Telegram

6. Girls Basketball: Fruitport Calvary Christian won a meeting of two more highly-regarded small-school programs, 53-46 over Battle Creek Calhoun Christian – Muskegon Chronicle

7. Boys Basketball: Oxford earned coach Steve Laidlaw his 100th victory with a 59-36 win over Walled Lake Central – Oakland Press

8. Girls Basketball: Riverview Gabriel Richard improved to 4-0 with a 42-37 win over Grosse Ile – Southgate Times-Herald

9. Girls Basketball: Lake City also moved to 4-0 with a 56-31 win over Houghton Lake – Cadillac News

10. Girls Basketball: Gaylord St. Mary capitalized on 37 turnovers in a 44-29 win over Mancelona – Gaylord Herald-Times

Also of note …

Football: Rockford coach Ralph Munger announced his retirement Friday after 40 seasons coaching there and at Frankenmuth – FOX 17

Today in the MHSAA: 3/2/20

March 2, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Four MHSAA team wrestling champions were celebrated Saturday – find coverage of all four Finals to the right – while Regional competitive cheer and bowling and league meets in boys swimming & diving added to an otherwise loaded basketball weekend across Michigan.

1. Boys Swimming & Diving: Holland West Ottawa – tied for No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – locked up its seventh-straight Ottawa-Kent Conference Red championship, finishing just ahead of No. 4 Hudsonville at the league meet – Holland Sentinel

2. Competitive Cheer: Allen Park edged Gibraltar Carlson in a Division 2 Regional that likely previewed the top contenders at this week’s Final – Southgate News-Herald

3. Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD2 honorable mention Pinckney won its first league championship, sharing the Southeastern Conference White title with No. 8 Dexter thanks to a league meet win – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

4. Bowling: The Essexville Garber girls won their first Regional title, topping runner-up Ovid-Elsie in Division 3 – Bay City Times

5. Girls Basketball: Charlevoix defeated Traverse City St. Francis to finish a Lake Michigan Conference title run, while welcoming back all-stater Elise Stuck after she missed the majority of the regular season with a knee injury – Petoskey News-Review

6. Boys Basketball: Riverview Gabriel Richard locked up its first Detroit Catholic League Tournament title since 1999 with a 63-56 win over Marine City Cardinal Mooney in the Cardinal division – State Champs Sports Network

7. Bowling: The Vandercook Lake boys and No. 7 Quincy girls won competitive Division 4 Regionals that featured the reigning team champions from Bronson; the Vikings girls are ranked No. 2 – Coldwater Daily Reporter

8. Boys Basketball: Central Montcalm clinched a share of the Central State Activities Association Gold title, its first since 2002, with a 70-48 win over Howard City Tri County – Greenville Daily News

9. Competitive Cheer: Rochester Adams outpaced Plymouth, Utica Eisenhower and Rochester to win their Division 1 Regional – Oakland Press

10. Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD1 honorable mention Zeeland won the O-K Green title by finishing first at the league meet after tying with LPD3 No. 2 Holland Christian during the dual season – Holland Sentinel

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: The Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan announced its Mr. Basketball Award finalists: Detroit Cass Tech’s Tyson Acuff, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Lorne Bowman, Benton Harbor’s Carlos Johnson, Clarkston’s Matt Nicholson and Flint Beecher’s Jalen Terry – MLive-Detroit

Girls Basketball: Ishpeming Westwood locked up both the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference East and Mid-Peninsula Conference titles with a 38-27 win over Gwinn – Marquette Mining Journal

Girls Basketball: Parma Western downed Battle Creek Harper Creek 51-35 to clinch the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference title – JTV

Boys Basketball: Orchard Lake St. Mary’s won its first Detroit Catholic League Tournament title since 2008 with a 61-54 Bishop victory over Detroit U-D Jesuit – State Champs Sports Network

Boys Basketball: Pickford edged Rudyard 71-65 to claim the Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference championship – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Girls Basketball: Kinde-North Huron netted a share of the North Central Thumb League Stripes title with a big win over Akron-Fairgrove – Huron Daily Tribune

Boys Basketball: Unionville-Sebewaing clinched a share of the Grater Thumb Conference West title with a 65-53 win over Bad Axe – Huron Daily Tribune

Girls Basketball: Big Rapids downed Grant 41-34 to lock up a shared CSAA Gold title with Fremont – Big Rapids News

Boys Basketball: Ovid-Elsie locked up the outright Mid-Michigan Activities Conference title with a 52-36 win over second-place New Lothrop – Mid-Michigan Now

Boys Basketball: Muskegon Western Michigan Christian and Ludington finished as co-champs in the Lakes 8 Activities Conference – Grand Haven Tribune

Girls Basketball: Alycia Patterson became Niles’ all-time leading scorer during a 28-point performance in a big win over Stevensville Lakeshore – Niles Daily Star

Boys Basketball: Brennen McNeil went over 1,000 career points with 14 in a win over Colon – Hillsdale Daily News

Football: Former Grand Rapids West Catholic coach Dan Rohn has been hired to take over Warren De La Salle Collegiate – Detroit Free Press