Today in the MHSAA: 1/22/18

January 22, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

Today's Top 10 

1. Wrestling: Division 3 No. 1 Dundee, Division 1 No. 7 Oxford and Division 4 No. 1 Hudson took the top three spots, respectively, at the Hudson Super 16 – Adrian Daily Telegram

2. Boys Basketball: Reigning Class D runner-up Buckley and 2017 Class C semifinalist Manton played a classic, with Buckley winning 62-60, while doing so to raise money for a family struggling with a cancer fight and to honor a local coach who died after battling the disease – Traverse City Record-Eagle

3. Competitive Cheer: Division 4 No. 4 Sanford Meridian Early College edged No. 3 Farwell and No. 7 Houghton Lake to win the 10-team Harrison Invitational – Midland Daily News

4. Hockey: Top-ranked Livonia Stevenson hung on for a 4-2 win over No. 5 Trenton in a matchup of Division 2 contenders – Observer & Eccentric

5. Hockey: Division 3 No. 7 Detroit Country Day handed Birmingham United its first loss this season in the premier game of the Oakland Activities Association/Metro League Showdown – Southgate News Herald

6. Bowling: The unranked New Baltimore Anchor Bay girls and Division 1 No. 2 Macomb L’Anse Creuse North boys won Macomb County championships – Macomb Daily

7. Wrestling: Escanaba won the 17-team 51st U.P. Championships meet, finishing just ahead of Gladstone and Marquette – Marquette Mining Journal

8. Wrestling: Division 3 No. 4 Whitehall claimed its 12th straight Greater Muskegon Athletic Association title, with 11 wrestlers reaching tournament finals – Muskegon Chronicle

9. Boys Swimming & Diving: Lower Peninsula Division 2 honorable mention Battle Creek Lakeview claimed its 27th straight All-City championship – Battle Creek Enquirer

10. Girls Basketball: Battle Creek Central bravely took to the floor and was edged by Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 53-47 a day after the unexpected death of junior varsity coach Julionna Mahar – Battle Creek Enquirer

Also of note …

Football: Longtime Walled Lakes Western coach Mike Zdebski stepped down after leading the team to 160 wins and 17 playoff appearances, to take a coaching job in Arizona – Detroit Free Press

Boys Soccer: Longtime Warren DeLaSalle and Fraser coach Thaier Mukhtar is returning to take over the Pilots’ program – Macomb 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