Today in the MHSAA: 12/14/15

December 14, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Close finishes highlighted the first Friday of boys basketball season, as those results led a weekend of impressive performances across the state in a variety of sports.

Boys Basketball

Class C Flint Beecher outlasted Class A Detroit East English 72-69 at the Horatio Williams Foundation Tip-Off Classic – Flint Journal

Reigning champion Lansing Everett opened its season with a 55-48 win over Grand Ledge in a matchup of the top two teams from the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue in 2014-15 – Lansing State Journal

Trishton Jackson scored to send the game to overtime and then added the game-winner in the extra period as West Bloomfield edged Southfield Christian 77-76 at the Oakland County Invitational – Mlive-Detroit

Ludington opened up Lakes 8 Conference play with a 54-42 win over reigning champion Muskegon Catholic Central – Ludington Daily News

Marquette rode the hot hand of Troy Sergey, who scored 22 points in a 68-60 win over Traverse City West on Saturday at the Petoskey Invitational – Marquette Mining Journal

From Thursday, St. Ignace football star Gage Kreski is pretty good at basketball too; he had 38 points, 13 rebounds and nine steals in a 75-48 win over Rudyard – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Girls Basketball

Muskegon Mona Shores standout Jordan Walker, also a member of the MHSAA Student Advisory Council, had 26 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals in a 68-42 win over Dearborn Heights Robichaud – Muskegon Chronicle

Girls Bowling

Paw Paw came back from a 10-0 deficit after the Baker games to edge Portage Northern 16-14 thanks in part to a 311 series by Grace Sylvester – Kalamazoo Gazette

Ice Hockey

Reid Pietila scored all five goals as Houghton defeated Utica Eisenhower 5-1 on Friday – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Wrestling

St. Johns, No. 2 in Division 2, finished 5-0 at the Jackson Area Wrestling Showdown with wins over Division 1 No. 9 Temperance Bedford and Division 4 No. 5 Manchester – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Every Hartland wrestler placed among the top five at his weight as the Division 1 top-ranked Eagles won their invitational – Livingston Daily

Today in the MHSAA: 10/28/15

October 28, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Tuesday may have been the most eventful weekday of the 2015 fall season so far, with ranked teams matchup up all over the Boys Soccer Regional Tournament, league champions crowned in volleyball and two of the state’s major powers in swimming and diving matching up for a history-making finish. And be sure to also check out excellent coverage of the MHSAA’s concussion care efforts this fall.

Boys Soccer

Division 1 No. 10 Portage Northern shut out No. 16 Grand Haven; the shutout was the Huskies’ third straight during the playoffs – Kalamazoo Gazette

Division 1 No. 5 Detroit Catholic Central went to overtime with No. 20 Grand Blanc before scoring their game’s only goal – Mlive-Detroit

Division 2 No. 3 Mattawan edged top-ranked Holland Christian 1-0, handing the Maroons their first and only loss this fall – Kalamazoo Gazette

Reigning Division 2 champion East Lansing, ranked No. 5, edged No. 6 Spring Lake 2-1 as the teams faced off in the tournament for the third straight season – Mlive-Lansing

Division 3 No. 3 Williamston survived a tough challenge from unranked Freeland, knocking out the Falcons 1-0 on a penalty kick – Saginaw News

Division 3 No. 7 Paw Paw ended the season for No. 4 and reigning champion Hudsonville Unity Christian – Kalamazoo Gazette

Division 4 top-ranked Lansing Christian scored three first-half goals to down No. 4 Royal Oak Shrine – Lansing State Journal

Girls Swimming and Diving

Holland Christian, ranked No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 3, topped LPD2 No. 9 Holland for the first time in this sport in 15 years – Holland Sentinel

Volleyball

Utica Eisenhower earned a share of the Macomb Area Conference White championship with a win over New Baltimore Anchor Bay; both are honorable mentions in Class A – Macomb Daily

Class A No. 3 Grand Haven fell to unranked East Kentwood to start Tuesday, but came back to beat Holland West Ottawa and clinch the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red title, its first league title since 2012 – Muskegon Chronicle

Buchanan, a Class B honorable mention, tied a school record for victories with its 45th win Tuesday – Niles Daily Star

Niles, unranked in Class B, downed Class D No. 2 Battle Creek St. Philip before falling to Class A No. 9 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central in four sets including two decided by two points – Niles Daily Star

Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart defeated Coleman in a matchup of undefeated teams in Mid-State Activities Conference play, but they could meet again at Saturday’s league tournament – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Good Read (and View)

The MHSAA has continued to take significant steps to provide the best possible care when concussions are suspected and treated, and WXYZ in Detroit reported on a few of this fall's developments – WXYZ.com