Today in the MHSAA: 1/25/19

January 25, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A number of the Lower Peninsula’s top swimming & diving teams faced off Thursday on a night that also saw a wrestling league title awarded and notable results in girls and boys basketball.

1. Boys Swimming & Diving: No. 2 Birmingham Groves edged No. 4 Midland Dow and No. 5 Rochester Adams in a tri meet of top teams from Lower Peninsula Division 2 – Midland Daily News

2. Wrestling: Onaway finished its North Star League championship run with wins over Mio and Oscoda – WBKB

3. Boys Basketball: Wyoming Potter’s House Christian continued a major surge by handing Marcellus Howardsville Christian its first defeat, 85-69 – Three Rivers Commercial-News

4. Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD3 No. 1 Holland Christian won a tri against No. 6 Grand Rapids Christian and Division 2 No. 10 Holland – Holland Sentinel

5. Wrestling: Division 1 No. 2 Brighton downed No. 6 Westland John Glenn 58-8 in a matchup of Kensington Lakes Activities Association division champs – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

6. Girls Basketball: Carson City-Crystal took over first place alone in the Mid-State Activities Conference with a 31-27 win over Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart – MI Sports Now

7. Boys Basketball: Big Rapids Crossroads avenged its lone loss with a 53-47 win over Manistee Catholic Central that put Crossroads in first alone in the West Michigan D League – Big Rapids News

8. Girls Basketball: Richland Gull Lake broke a three-game losing streak by handing Comstock just its second defeat of the season, 48-39 – Kalamazoo Gazette

9. Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD3 No. 3 Spring Lake earned an impressive 102-84 win over LPD2 honorable mention Grand Rapids Northview – Grand Haven Tribune

10. Girls Basketball: West Bloomfield held on to first place alone in the Oakland Activities Association White with a 63-53 win over Oxford – Oakland Press

Also of note …

Softball: Past Essexville Garber standout Katy Ratajczak was honored for her life-saving work last spring as she and her family traveled home from her final high school softball game – Bay City Times

Today in the MHSAA: 2/18/19

February 18, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Wrestling Regionals, Cheer Districts and more than a dozen hockey, basketball and bowling league championships won over the weekend make today’s list of high achievers perhaps the longest so far this 2018-19 school year – and check elsewhere on Second Half for coverage of our first winter Finals in Upper Peninsula swimming & diving.

1. Boys Basketball: Oscoda tied a school record with its 17th win and clinched the North Star League Big Dipper title, its first conference championship since 1991, with a 61-39 victory over Whittemore-Prescott – WBKB

2. Hockey: Division 3 No. 9 Alpena downed Traverse City Central 5-0 to clinch its first Big North Conference title since 2004-05 – Alpena News

3. Girls Basketball: Detroit Mumford repeated as Detroit Public School League Tournament champion with a 59-49 win over Detroit Martin Luther King – State Champs!

4. Wrestling: No. 2 Brighton qualified a Livingston County-record 13 for the Individual Finals from Saturday’s Division 1 Regional – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

5. Boys Basketball: Wyoming Godwin Heights clinched its 10th straight Ottawa-Kent Conference Silver title with a 63-44 win over Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian – FOX 17

6. Boys Basketball: Detroit U-D Jesuit clinched its seventh straight Detroit Catholic League A-B Tournament title with a 63-54 win over Detroit Catholic Central – Detroit News

7. Boys Basketball: Detroit Cass Tech downed Detroit Renaissance 80-56 to win the Detroit PSL Tournament title – Detroit News

8. Boys Basketball: Benton Harbor won a matchup of Division 2 championship contenders, 72-62 over River Rouge – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

9. Basketball: Kinross Maplewood Baptist’s girls and boys basketball teams won Northern Lights Conference Tournament titles, Ellie Bell going over 1,000 career points for the girls during their run – MI Sports Now

10. Competitive Cheer: Reigning Division 2 champion Allen Park won its District, ahead of runner-up Dearborn Divine Child – Southgate News-Herald

Also of note …

Gymnastics: Jackson Area finished first and Coldwater second at the South Central Gymnastics League Championship meet, Coldwater finishing its highest since 1989 – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Boys Bowling: Gaylord put the finishing touches on a second straight Northern Michigan Bowling Conference championship – Gaylord Herald Times

Boys Bowling: Division 4 top-ranked Bronson clinched the Kensington Valley Association championship – Sturgis Journal

Boys Basketball: Josh Palo went over 1,000 career points in Howell’s 57-45 win over Novi – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Boys Basketball: Ovid-Elsie claimed a share of the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference title with a 69-66 double-overtime win over Mount Morris – Owosso Argus-Press

Boys Basketball: Richmond clinched its second straight Blue Water Area Conference title with a 51-41 win over Almont – Port Huron Times-Herald

Bowling: The Rockford girls and Caledonia boys claimed O-K Red championships at the league tournament – Grand Haven Tribune

Boys Basketball: Ionia clinched the outright Capital Area Activities Conference White title with a big win over Lansing Catholic – Greenville Daily News

Girls Basketball: Muskegon clinched the O-K Black championship with a 72-66 win over Jenison – Local Sports Journal

Boys Basketball: Fremont clinched the Central State Activities Association Gold title with a 60-58 overtime win over Grant – Local Sports Journal

Bowling: New Boston Huron’s girls and boys teams swept the Monroe County Invitational titles; the girls are ranked No. 4 and the boys No. 10 in Division 2 – Monroe News

Boys Basketball: Royal Oak Shrine defeated Ann Arbor Greenhills to win the Catholic League C-D title – Oakland Press