Today in the MHSAA: 1/30/18

January 30, 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. Girls Basketball: Monica Williams’ steal and layup during the final minute gave Detroit Mumford a 52-50 win over Cass Tech and a second straight Detroit Public School League West Division 1 championship – Detroit News

2. Skiing: Petoskey’s boys and Traverse City West’s girls won the second Big North Conference race this season – Petoskey News-Review

3. Girls Basketball: Flat Rock came back from a seven-point halftime deficit to upset Carleton Airport 57-53 – Monroe Evening News

4. Girls Basketball: Jenelle Carpenter’s lone basket with 2.2 seconds to play gave Lincoln Alcona a 43-42 win over Posen – Alpena News

5. Girls Basketball: Ski Valley Conference leader Gaylord St. Mary downed Highland Conference second-place Lake City 60-35 – Gaylord Herald Times

6. Boys Basketball: Iron Mountain improved to 11-0 with a 56-46 win over Negaunee – Marquette Mining Journal

7. Boys Basketball: Escanaba came back from a halftime deficit to down Sault Ste. Marie 60-48 and improve to 10-1 – Escanaba Daily Press

8. Health & Safety: Greenville’s Jeff “Doc” Day, said to be one of the first fulltime, school-sponsored trainers in the state, retired after 41 years caring for the school’s athletes – Greenville Daily News

9. Football: Previously successful Holt, Dansville and Eaton Rapids coach Mike Smith will take over at Lansing Everett, where he’s also serving as athletic director – Lansing State Journal

10. Multi-Sport Participation: The MHSAA and school administrators are working to combat specialization and promote multi-sport participation; this report explains some of that effort – State Champs Sports Network

Also of note …

Football: Looking for a Michigan player to follow during the Super Bowl? Check out former Detroit Crockett star Brandon Graham, who plays defensive end and serves as a captain for the Eagles but during high school played offense, defense, kicked and punted (note: Crockett did not win an MHSAA football title, as reported) – Sports Talk Philly

Today in the MHSAA: 6/7/16

June 7, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Action was light as the second-to-last week of 2015-16 began Monday. But that allowed us the opportunity to catch up on some of the incredible District title streaks extended or ended over the weekend, including one stretching three decades.

Baseball

Holt continued to ride its wave after beating rival Grand Ledge in their Division 1 District by beating Mason in a Capital Area Diamond Classic semifinal to earn a championship game matchup with the Comets on Wednesday – Lansing State Journal

From Saturday, Rudyard clinched its seventh straight District title with a 7-1 win over St. Ignace in Division 4 – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Girls Soccer

From Saturday, Pinconning won its first District title, downing Roscommon 2-1 in Division 3 – Bay City Times

From Saturday, Montrose, in Division 4, won its first District title since 2001 and in doing so ended Saginaw Nouvel’s 18-year run of District championships – Saginaw News

Softball

From Friday, Custer Mason County Eastern nearly saw a 30-season District streak end while trailing Brethren in the seventh inning of the championship game, but won 5-4 in eight innings to extend the streak to 31 – Ludington Daily News

Gladstone extended its streak of District titles to 14 with a win over Ishpeming Westwood in their championship game – Escanaba Daily Press

Good Read

It’s hard to tell what’s most intriguing about Monroe baseball standout Naruki Okamoto; that’s he’s moved back and forth between Japan and the U.S. three times, that he’ll graduate this week as a junior because he has that many credits, or that he almost didn’t make the team but has hit .343 as the starting second baseman – Monroe Evening News