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: 9/16/2015

September 16, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

MHSAA Finals favorites in cross country and boys tennis got an early look at each other Tuesday, while a Corunna volleyball standout set a school record – literally.

Cross Country

Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart has become arguably the team to beat in Lower Peninsula Division 4 girls cross country, evidenced again by its win at the Beal City Invitational ahead of the reigning MHSAA champion Aggies – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Boys Soccer

Division 2 No. 14 Fruitport scored with six minutes to play to push past Division 3 No. 12 Ludington 4-3 – Muskegon Chronicle

Northville, ranked No. 4 in Division 1, improved to 8-0 with a 4-1 win over Livonia Stevenson – Detroit News

Boys Tennis

The top-ranked teams in LP Division 4 met Tuesday, with No. 1 Ann Arbor Greenhills prevailing in close matches to claim a 6-2 win over No. 2 Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett – Mlive-Detroit

We’ve heard of lots of traveling trophies in football, but this might be a first for tennis; Clio tied Swartz Creek 4-4, and with a 5-3 win as well this season, retained “The Rock” – Flint Journal

From Saturday, we’ve got a more detailed account of how the strong competition played out at the Grosse Pointe North Invitational – Grand Rapids Press

Girls Tennis

Iron Mountain, last season’s Upper Peninsula Division 2 runner-up, moved to 14-0 this season in a close match against reigning Division 1 runner-up Kingsford – Iron Mountain Daily News

Volleyball

Reigning Class A champion Romeo rode a strong finishing run by Miss Volleyball favorite Gia Milana to down always-powerful Marysville – Macomb Daily

Corunna’s Skylar Napier broke her school’s career assists record with 2,328 during a pair of wins over Lake Fenton and Montrose – Flint Journal

Midland Bullock Creek may be unranked, but at least locally has been nearly unstoppable, moving to 19-2-1 with a pair of wins Monday – Midland Daily News

Good Read

And a good cause – Okemos and Mason’s boys soccer teams introduced this season’s "Compete for a Cause" game, which will be played Sept. 26 under the lights at Okemos High School. The teams combined last season to raise $11,000 for childhood cancer research – Lansing State Journal