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
Did you see that? (May 27-June 2)
June 3, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This week’s report of the best from the previous seven days is decidedly slanted toward the action of Friday and Saturday’s MHSAA Finals, Regionals and District competitions.
And as always is the case after this incredibly busy first weekend in June, there is plenty to tell.
Here’s a look at some of the biggest headlines, many of which were published on Second Half.
Girls Track and Field
Saluting the seniors: This class of 2013 has to be considered one of the strongest groups of seniors in MHSAA girls track and field history. For the second straight spring, Reed City’s Sami Michell won four MHSAA championships, and this time set the Lower Peninsula record with 12 career Finals titles. Grosse Pointe South’s Meier twins, West Bloomfield’s Erin Finn and Detroit Country Day’s Kendall Baisden are just a handful of the other incredible talents who ran their final high school meets. Click below for coverage from all seven, both Lower and Upper Peninsula.(LPD1) (LPD2) (LPD3) (LPD4) (UPD1) (UPD2) (UPD3)
Boys Track and Field
First in a while, first ever: Wyoming Kelloggsville in LP Division 3 and Saugatuck in LP Division 4 celebrated their first MHSAA championships in this sport – and Manistique in UP Division 2 won a team title for the first time since 1960. (LPD1) (LPD2) (LPD3) (LPD4) (UPD1) (UPD2) (UPD3)
Girls Tennis
Re-joining the powerhouses: Birmingham Marian, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood and Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart all won MHSAA Lower Peninsula championships to add to long runs of dominance. This season, Port Huron Northern joined them with a two-point win in Division 1 that gave the Huskies their first Finals team title since 2002. (LPD1) (LPD2) (LPD3) (LPD4)
Girls Golf
Raising the bar: Houghton won its third straight MHSAA championship and in the process also lowered its team score at the Finals for the third straight season – this time 18 strokes from 2012. But the most incredible number came from Marquette’s Avery Rochester, who carded a U.P. Finals-record 69, 10 strokes better than the previous low mark. Click below to read also about Iron Mountain’s dominance and Munising’s first team title. (UPD1) (UPD2) (UPD3)
Boys Golf
Winning at the right time: Hancock’s first victory of this season came in last week’s MHSAA U.P. Division 3 Final. All three tournaments were filled with their shares of surprises – see the links. (UPD1) (UPD2) (UPD3)
Boys Tennis
Count ends at 60: Kingsford won its first outright MHSAA team title in 60 years, in Division 1, while Iron River West Iron County rode motivation of a second place in 2012 to finish first this time in Division 2. (UPD1) (UPD2)
Softball
Clinton continues title streak: Reigning Division 3 Finals champion Clinton needed a 7-4, eight-inning win over Manchester and a 6-5 title-clincher over Brooklyn Columbia Central in the final to win its District for the sixth straight season. (Adrian Daily Telegram)
Jackson hoists first District trophy: The Vikings downed Battle Creek Lakeview and Grand Ledge to claim their first District championship. (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)
Baseball
Surprise winner in Portage: A Portage team was favored to win the Division 1 District in its hometown, but unranked Portage Northern will be moving on after scoring three runs in the seventh inning to down No. 3 Portage Central 3-2 in the final. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Cougars survive: No. 2-ranked Lansing Catholic had to face No. 5 Bath, at Bath, in their Division 3 District Final. But the Cougars rode a sixth-inning rally to claim a 2-1 victory. (Lansing State Journal)
Oilers win battle of ranked in D2: No. 4 Mount Pleasant had 15 hits and pulled away quickly in ending the season of No. 6 Bullock Creek in a Division 2 final. (Mount Pleasant Morning Sun)
Record-breaking run continues: Charlevoix has set a school record with 27 wins this season, the most recent coming Saturday to give the team its first District title since 1988. (Charlevoix Courier)
Girls Lacrosse
Hartland lives on: Eventually, either Hartland or Brighton would be alone emerging from Livingston County this season. Hartland won this final battle between the two top-10 Division 1 teams, 17-15. (Livingston Daily Press & Argus)
Girls Soccer
Oakridge shuts District down: Muskegon Oakridge won its first girls soccer District championship with its third shutout of the tournament, 5-0 over Muskegon Orchard View. (Muskegon Chronicle)
Caledonia emerges from crowded field: Three of the top 10 plus two more honorable mentions in the final Division 1 coaches poll played in the District at Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, and honorable mention Caledonia claimed the title after defeating No. 6 East Kentwood in the final. (Grand Rapids Press)