Today in the MHSAA: 1/30/17

January 30, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Powers North Central set an MHSAA record for longest boys basketball winning streak Friday, and you can find separate coverage of that here. But there were a number of other highlights to promote from the weekend, including some key hockey matchups and a long list of impressive girls basketball accomplishments.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state. 

Girls Basketball

Grand Rapids Catholic Central continued its surge with a 42-34 win over reigning Class B champion Marshall – Grand Rapids Press

Michigan Center won its 10th game this season, 36-29 over 2016 Class B semifinalist Bay City John Glenn – Jackson Citizen Patriot

Goodrich avenged an earlier loss to Flint Hamady to take over first place in the Genesee Area Conference Red with a 54-36 win in the rematch – Flint Journal

Mary Liedel became the first player in Erie-Mason girls history to score 1,000 points, passing the milestone in a 60-50 win over Brooklyn Columbia Central – Monroe Evening News

Ionia’s Jaylynn Williams also passed 1,000 career points, with 26 in a 44-38 win over Portland – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

From Thursday, Newberry’s Taylor Bryant broke her school’s career scoring record for both girls and boys – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Boys Basketball

Powers North Central broke Chassell’s 59-year-old MHSAA record for longest winning streak, earning a 66th-straight win by downing Bark River-Harris 76-29 – Escanaba Daily Press

Detroit Catholic Central also avenged an early-season loss, downing Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 70-56 – MLive-Detroit

Lansing Catholic upset Williamston 76-72, handing the Hornets their second loss this season – Lansing State Journal

Competitive Cheer

Division 1 No. 8 Rochester edged honorable mention Lake Orion by less than a point to finish first among Division 1 teams and overall at the Dragons’ invitational – Oakland Press

Gymnastics

Canton won its latest matchup with rival Farmington, finishing first at the White Lake Lakeland Invitational while Northville finished third in a loaded field – Observer & Eccentric

Hockey

No. 2 Brighton won a matchup of the top-ranked teams in Division 1, edging No. 1 Detroit Catholic Central 2-1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Hartland, No. 1 in Division 2, also won impressively 3-0 over No. 4 Livonia Stevenson – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Skiing

Petoskey’s girls and boys teams shined against top downstate competition in sweeping championships at the Pintail Slalom Invitational – Petoskey News-Review

Wrestling

Hamilton coach Gregg Stoel reached 500 wins during the Montague Invitational – Grand Rapids Press

Macomb County teams went a combined 22-3 against Oakland County at the Gold Division meet – Macomb Daily

Stevensville Lakeshore beat rival and Division 2 No. 10 Niles by 21 points to win the Greater Berrien County Invitational – South Bend Tribune

Good Read

It’s been more than 20 years since Jeff McCullough’s death after a fight with cancer, but his memory lives on in Traverse City hockey among players who weren’t born until after he passed – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Today in the MHSAA: 1/11/16

January 11, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The first full sports weekend of 2016 included notable performances in a number of sports, highlighted by one of the top swimming and diving meets of the regular season.

Girls Basketball

Ithaca girls basketball coach Bob Anderson earned his 700th win as his team beat Carrollton 66-40; he’s coached both girls and boys teams to success over 27 seasons – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Durand handed Goodrich its first league loss in seven years while staying undefeated this season in the Genesee Area Conference Red – Flint Journal

DeWitt remained undefeated at 8-0 after handing Lansing Waverly its first loss this season in a matchup of two of the Lansing area’s top teams – Lansing State Journal

St. Joseph moved to 6-1 with a 72-35 win over Benton Harbor, a semifinalist in Class B last season – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Saranac was missing its leading scorer, but still managed to get past annual Class D power Portland St. Patrick 41-33 – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Boys Basketball

Okemos handed Holt its first loss this season and won its first game on the Rams’ home court since 2010 – Lansing State Journal

Ice Hockey

Portage Central earned a win that could boost it into the state rankings, downing Division 1 No. 10 East Kentwood 2-1 on Saturday in Muskegon – Kalamazoo Gazette

Boys Swimming & Diving

Division 2 No. 1 Dexter scored 409 points to beat No. 4 Warren DeLaSalle by 33 at the annual Spartan Invitational at Battle Creek Lakeview, with the field also including reigning champion Birmingham Seaholm and Division 1 contender Ann Arbor Skyline – Battle Creek Enquirer

Lower Peninsula Division 1 honorable mention Grand Rapids Forest Hills defeated a field that included LPD2 No. 6 Midland Dow at the Forest Hills Invitational – Midland Daily News

Wrestling

Unranked Westland John Glenn got past Division 1 No. 9 New Baltimore Anchor Bay to win the Michigan Duals at Bay City Western over a field that also included No. 8 Western and Division 3 No. 5 Remus Chippewa Hills – Mlive-Detroit

Division 2 No. 9 Sparta won the Dave Dunneback Tournament with 247 points, ahead of Lake Odessa Lakewood, Belding and Division 3 No. 6 Grand Rapids Catholic Central – Grand Rapids Press

Football

Mike McDowell returned four seasons ago for his second stint coaching Morenci and led the program to its best finishes in nearly two decades. He recently resigned – Adrian Daily Telegram

Good Reads

Longtime coach Keith Haske remains cancer-free after fighting Stage 4 throat cancer only a year ago – and he’s added significantly to his day, becoming the girls basketball coach in addition to leading the boys program at Traverse City St. Francis. The Record-Eagle’s Brett Sommers documented a typical Haske day – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Carleton Airport senior Jessica Book is her school’s Homecoming Queen this year – and a cheerleader – and a wrestler – and plans to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps and defuse bombs – Monroe Evening News