Today in the MHSAA: 1/6/20

January 6, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The clashing of statewide wrestling powers and a nearly unbelievable performance on the ice highlighted a power-packed first weekend of 2020.

1. Wrestling: Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central, No. 2 Davison, No. 3 Brighton and Division 2 top-ranked Lowell took the top four team places, respectively, at the 56th DCC Invitational – Oakland Press

2. Hockey: Division 2 No. 2 Livonia Stevenson downed Hartland 5-2, with Seth Lause scoring an incredible three short-handed goals – Observer & Eccentric

3. Boys Basketball: Flint Beecher downed Benton Harbor 76-62 in a matchup of teams expected to make runs at Finals championships in March – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

4. Hockey: Division 1 No. 5 Brighton handed the first loss of the season to the last team without one, 3-2 to Division 3 top-ranked Calumet – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

5. Hockey: Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central earned a significant league win 6-0 over No. 4 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s – Oakland Press

6. Girls Basketball: Kelsey Richards went over 30 points for the fifth straight game as Fruitport Calvary Christian earned a 50-46 statement win over Central Montcalm – Muskegon Chronicle

7. Wrestling: Division 4 top-ranked Clinton followed a pair of individual champions to the team title at the 45th Dave Elliott Memorial Tournament – Adrian Daily Telegram

8. Boys Basketball: In another matchup of championship hopefuls, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s downed Grand Blanc 69-66 – Flint Journal

9. Girls Basketball: Hart continued its surge with a 51-35 win over Calvary Christian the day after the latter’s big win noted above – Muskegon Chronicle

10. Hockey: Ann Arbor Pioneer improved to 8-2 with a 2-1 win over rival Skyline in the final of the Jilek Cup – We Love Ann Arbor

Also of note …

Football: The football community is mourning the death of Zeeland West assistant Gasper Giarmo, who coached more than 30 years combined at seven schools including a decade at Byron Center – Grand Rapids Press

Today in the MHSAA: 2/22/19

February 22, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

More league championships were awarded Thursday as boys basketball teams finished up their regular season and girls teams closed in on the final week of theirs – and we’re also glad to especially highlight an impressive United Sports effort that brought more than 250 athletes to Novi.

1. Unified Basketball: Novi and the Kensington Lakes Activities Association hosted 10 schools for a league tournament that showcased the growing Unified Sports effort – Detroit News

2. Boys Basketball: Canton downed Howell 78-58 to clinch the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Tournament championship – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

3. Boys Basketball: Walled Lake Northern earned the inaugural Lakes Valley Conference Tournament title with a 29-26 win over White Lake Lakeland – State Champs!

4. Girls Basketball: A big win over Memphis helped Harbor Beach earn a share of the Greater Thumb Conference East title – Huron Daily Tribune

5. Girls Basketball: St. Ignace defeated Cheboygan to clinch the outright Straits Area Conference championship – The Upbeat

6. Boys Basketball: Otsego finished the regular season 20-0 with a 75-61 win over Sturgis in the Wolverine Conference championship game – JoeInsider.com

7. Boys Basketball: Bear Lake’s Trey Gilbert scored 50 points in a 71-48 win over Baldwin to go over 1,000 for his career – Manistee News Advocate

8. Boys Basketball: Pellston secured the outright Ski Valley Conference title with a 54-39 win over Gaylord St. Mary – Petoskey News-Review

9. Boys Basketball: Ovid-Elsie downed New Lothrop 48-28 to secure the outright Mid-Michigan Activities Conference title – Owosso Argus-Press

10. Boys Basketball: Kyle Hulett went over 1,000 career points with 31 for Byron in a 74-72 win over Mount Morris – Flint Journal

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: New Haven’s Romeo Weems, Detroit Renaissance’s Chandler Turner, Canton’s B. Artis White and Westland John Glenn’s Joe Moon were named finalists for the Mr. Basketball Award – State Champs!

Boys Basketball: Gladstone downed Kingsford, but Kingsford’s Tyler Beauchamp became the program’s all-time leading scorer and teammate Luke Terrian scored his 1,000th point – Iron Mountain Daily News

Boys Basketball: From Tuesday, Hale defeated Posen to claim its third straight North Star League Little Dipper title – WBKB