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: 6/6/16

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