Today in the MHSAA: 12/16/19

December 16, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Early-season showcases this weekend in ice hockey and girls basketball gave us a few ideas of how some of the best stack up as the start of the holiday invitational schedule nears.

1. Hockey: Division 2 top-ranked Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice ended No. 3 Hartland’s 14-game winning streak going back to last season, 4-2 at the MIHL/KLAA Showcase – Observer & Eccentric

2. Girls Basketball: Detroit Renaissance capitalized on 28 turnovers in getting past East Kentwood 49-47 at the Best of Michigan Classic – State Champs Sports Network

3. Girls Basketball: Reigning Division 4 champion Adrian Lenawee Christian earned a big win against a much bigger opponent, 61-40 over Kalamazoo Central also at Best of Michigan – State Champs Sports Network

4. Hockey: No. 2 Livonia Stevenson earned a 2-1 win over No. 4 Trenton at the MIHL/KLAA Showcase – Observer & Eccentric

5. Hockey: Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central surged to a 7-0 win over No. 5 Brighton at the MIHL/KLAA Showcase – Observer & Eccentric

6. Hockey: Division 1 No. 2 Salem extended its winning streak to five with a 3-2 win over No. 4 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s at the MIHL/KLAA Showcase – Observer & Eccentric

7. Gymnastics: Escanaba edged Marquette by slightly more than two points to win the Elks Invitational – Escanaba Daily Press

8. Wrestling: Division 2 No. 2 Gaylord dominated at the Romeo Invitational with wins by at least 21 points over all four opponents – Gaylord Herald Times

9. Wrestling: Petoskey won individual titles at eight weights on the way to the team championship at the Owosso Invitational – Petoskey News-Review

10. Girls Bowling: Midland Bullock Creek swept St. Louis and Saginaw Valley Lutheran to run its Tri-Valley Conference match winning streak to 30 – Midland Daily News

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: Although his team fell to North Muskegon 63-51, Mason County Central’s Jeffery Carrier went over 1,000 career points – Ludington Daily News

Boys Basketball: Fife Lake Forest Area’s Chase Ingersoll also went over 1,000 points with 19 in an 84-58 win over Big Rapids Crossroads – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Today in the MHSAA: 10/15/15

October 15, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Championship are won on a seemingly daily basis in October, and plenty were earned and celebrated Wednesday – but please also check out some great reads at the bottom of this list, including a look at why specialization is increasing as a nationwide concern.

Cross Country

The Saugatuck girls, ranked No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 4, won their ninth straight Southwestern Athletic Conference title with 12 runners earning all-league honors – Grand Rapids Press

Boys Soccer

LP Division 2 No. 5 East Lansing capped an impressive run through the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup by winning the final 3-1 over Grand Ledge – Lansing State Journal

LP Division 1 No. 15 East Kentwood secured its 12th Ottawa-Kent Conference Red title in 13 seasons with a 1-0 win over Grandville, helped in part by a pair of players whose ties the program go back to the early years of the run – Grand Rapids Press

LP Division 1 No. 7 Utica Ford shut out No. 14 Fraser to clinch the Macomb Area Conference Red championship – Macomb Daily

Unranked Birmingham Brother Rice stunned LP Division 1 No. 3 Detroit Catholic Central 2-1 in the championship game of the Detroit Catholic League A-B tournament – Oakland Press

LP Division 4 No. 11 Charlevoix clinched a share of the Lake Michigan Conference title with a 3-0 win over Grayling, thanks to a hat trick by Walker Drost – Charlevoix Courier

Saginaw Heritage scored the first goal Flint Powers Catholic had given up since Sept. 12, but the Chargers emerged with a 2-1 win and the overall Saginaw Valley League championship – Flint Journal

Volleyball

Lansing Catholic won the first volleyball league championship in its long history, beating Fowlerville in three sets to claim a share of the CAAC White title – Lansing State Journal

Good Reads

Single-sport specialization has become a topic of national focus and concern, and MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts was among association directors talked to for this report on why it’s a health-related issue and how states are working to promote multi-sport participation instead – NFHS.org

Vandercook Lake is enjoying its best football season in 45 years and plays for a league title this weekend, and is led by a three-sport athlete who has been on a long road back after Crohn’s disease led to his shedding 90 pounds only two years ago – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

The Christmas tree standing tall in front of the Capitol in Lansing this winter will come from Wakefield thanks to a donation by Florence Daniels in honor of her husband Jim, who coached Wakefield High's boys basketball team to 355 wins, 12 district the five regional titles in 28 seasons. He also was a member of Channing High’s Upper Peninsula championship team in 1944 and coached Al Inkala, who went on to become an MHSAA championship-winning girls tennis coach at Okemos – Lansing State Journal