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

Linked Up: 10/28/11

October 28, 2011

Each week I'll post links to stories that interest me most during my travels in online sports land. I was going to wait for next week for this first installment, but these seemed worthy of telling you about now.

See something high school sports-related that you think others would find valuable? Send me a link.

Akron-Fairgrove and Owendale-Gagetown eager for long-awaited playoff games in first season of eight-man football bracket (Bay City Times)

These two teams provide multiple reasons why 8-player football has been such a strong addition -- most notably, it is providing our smallest schools with an opportunity to still play football despite fewer players, and succeed. The sport took off in this state in 2009, and this weekend mark the start of the first MHSAA 8-player Tournament. Akron-Fairgrove will play its first postseason game since 1992, while Owendale-Gagetown will play its first since 1979.

Olivet's Peters coaching his heart out (Battle Creek Enquirer)

I covered Olivet and coach Dean Peters for more than a decade, including during last season's first-ever Eagles run to the MHSAA football finals. One of the great people in high school coaching, he needed emergency double-bypass surgery earlier this month but is back in the coaching booth. Olivet faces Lansing Catholic in a Pre-District game.

Megan Hubbard a standout for Hanover-Horton cross country (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)

This is a neat story about a runner who is second-best on her team and has never won a race -- but also is likely the second-best to ever run at her school. Usually, we hear only about who finishes first.

Standley Lake football player Rhett Gutierrez overcomes eye disease (The Denver Post)
 
Almost always, links I post will be Michigan-related. But this story is just incredible. We've seen athletes with different degrees of vision impairment do incredible things in high school athletics. But this is the first time I've heard of someone overcoming that obstacle to play quarterback for his football team.