Today in the MHSAA: 12/7/15
December 7, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The first week of girls basketball season and second full week of ice hockey season came to an end with key matchups between teams that should be among contenders over the next few months.
Girls Basketball
Bay City John Glenn turned a three-point halftime advantage into a 53-44 win over Southfield-Lathrup, a favorite in Class A this winter – Bay City Times
Haslett graduated most of the team that carried it to a Class B runner-up finish last season, but surged to 2-0 with a 64-27 win over Okemos – Lansing State Journal
Lansing Waverly got 37 points from a frontcourt featuring two players 6-foot or taller in a 50-27 win over East Lansing – Lansing State Journal
Freshman Kate McArthur made eight 3-pointers in her first varsity game to lead Warren Cousino past Sterling Heights 58-38 – Macomb Daily
Detroit Country Day trailed by as many as 16 during the second half against Midland Dow, but came back to win 68-64 – Oakland Press
Bark River-Harris made quick work of Upper Peninsula power Crystal Falls Forest Park, 51-25, in the former's season opener – Escanaba Daily Press
Ice Hockey
Painesdale-Jeffers improved to 5-1 on this young season with a 3-0 shutout of Kingsford – Iron Mountain Daily News
Rockford, ranked No. 8 in Division 1, scored the final four goals in a 5-1 win over No. 7 East Kentwood – Grand Rapids Press
Boys Swimming and Diving
Ann Arbor Pioneer won the annual Cereal Bowl Relays at Battle Creek Central, putting up 391 points to win the 69-year-old event – Battle Creek Enquirer
Good Read
Anyone who has watched the Flint Beecher boys basketball program return to elite under coach Mike Williams would have a hard time not rooting for the Bucs and their passionate leader – who, unbeknownst to most, also has battled against complications caused by multiple sclerosis – Flint Journal
Today in the MHSAA: 6/6/16
June 6, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Another busiest week – and busiest day – in MHSAA sports is in the books. So too are Finals champions in track & field and girls tennis, and hundreds of District champions in baseball, softball and girls soccer and Regional champions in girls and boys lacrosse.
We touch on the statewide media coverage of just some of the highlights below.
Baseball
Top-ranked Coldwater won its fifth straight District title, downing No. 10 Marshall 8-4 in the championship game in Division 2 – Battle Creek Enquirer
Unranked Beaverton emerged from a Division 3 District that included No. 2 Sanford Meridian and No. 3 Clare – Midland Daily News
Birmingham Groves got past Birmingham Brother Rice 8-6 in Division 1 to win its first District championship since 2005 – Oakland Press
Boys Lacrosse
Birmingham Brother Rice received a rare scare before downing Clarkston 9-6 in Division 1 – Observer & Eccentric
Okemos won its second straight Division 2 Regional title by surviving Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 9-8 – Lansing State Journal
Girls Lacrosse
Reigning Division 2 champion East Grand Rapids needed overtime to survive, 11-9, against Grand Rapids Catholic Central – Fox17
Rockford just edged Grand Rapids Forest Hills United 9-8 to move on in Division 1 – Grand Rapids Press
Girls Soccer
Division 3 No. 6 Freeland won its seventh straight District title, this time with a 4-1 championship game clincher over Alma – Midland Daily News
Division 4 No. 2 Elk Rapids moved to 21-0 this season with an 8-0 championship game win over No. 14 Leland – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Softball
Blissfield downed No. 6 Dundee to start Saturday, but top-ranked Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central beat Blissfield 4-1 in 10 innings in the Division 3 championship game – Adrian Daily Telegram
After seeing a 10-year District streak snapped in 2015, New Baltimore Anchor Bay made it 11 in 12 seasons with a 2-1 avenging of last year’s loss to Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse in Division 1 – Macomb Daily
Fulton won its first District title in this sport, downing rival Fowler 8-3 in the Division 4 championship game – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Girls Tennis
Four MHSAA Lower Peninsula tennis teams won championships: Midland Dow in Division 1 after finishing runner-up in 2015, Bloomfield Hills Marian in Division 2 for the first time since 2013, Detroit County Day in Division 3 breaking a five-year hold on the title by Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, and Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart in a repeat in Division 4 – Second Half
Girls Track & Field
We covered all seven championship meets across both peninsulas, with the following teams winning titles: Oak Park, Lansing Waverly, Ithaca, Fowler, Marquette, Ishpeming and Ontonagon. Ithaca and Lansing Waverly's titles were their first, and Ontonagon’s its first since 1974 – Second Half
Boys Track & Field
We also covered all seven boys meets, with the following champions: Oak Park, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, Sanford Meridian, Saugatuck, Marquette, Ishpeming and Rapid River. Oak Park’s title was its first in the sport – Second Half