Today in the MHSAA: 2/12/16

February 12, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Wrestling Districts again dominated the action Thursday, and many of the headline grabbers are linked up below – as well as a basketball game filled with impressive numbers and a video feature showing one of Michigan’s all-time high school greats.

Boys Basketball

Jamal Cain had 42 points and 20 rebounds to lead Cornerstone Health/Technology to a 101-93 win over Detroit Pershing – Detroit News

Wrestling

Matt Mills won the final match of the night to give Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central its fourth straight District title with a 32-31 win over Rockford – Grand Rapids Press

Macomb Dakota also trailed going into the final match of its Division I District Final, but Dustin Solomon won to give the No. 9 Cougars a final 29-28 victory over No. 8 New Baltimore Anchor Bay – Macomb Daily

Portage Central beat rival Portage Northern for the first time in three years, claiming a Division 1 District title with a 42-41 victory – Kalamazoo Gazette

No. 6 Caro won its 23rd straight District championship, downing Essexville Garber in a Division 3 championship match – Saginaw News

From Wednesday, Tecumseh won its 14th straight District championship, claiming a Division 2 title – Adrian Daily Telegram

Also from Wednesday, Manistique won the first wrestling District title in school history, downing Newberry 31-24 in a Division 3 Final – Escanaba Daily Press

Worth the Watch

This came out during the fall, but is a worthwhile 23 minutes on a frigid day as well; Dearborn Heights Robichaud’s Tyrone Wheatley is considered one of the most incredible athletes in Michigan high school history and then came back to successfully coach his alma mater before moving on to the football staff at University of Michigan. This is his story, complete with clips from his high school days – State Champs!

Today in the MHSAA: 8/24/15

August 24, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

All MHSAA fall sports but football kicked off competition last week, with cross country, boys soccer, girls swimming and diving and volleyball starting Saturday.

Below are some notable headlines from the first weekend of this season, plus links to coverage.

Cross Country

St. Johns hosted its second “Under the Lights” meets Friday; Ithaca’s girls and Saugatuck’s boys bested fields loaded with much larger opponents – Lansing State Journal

The St. Joseph girls and Bridgman boys won championships at the Niles Stampede – the St. Joseph girls, who finished fourth in Lower Peninsula Division 2 last season, by a large margin – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Girls Golf

Maple City Glen Lake’s Nichole Cox, last season’s LP Division 4 individual champion, came back to defeat Brighton freshman Annie Pietila at the two-day Lober Invitational at Grand Traverse Resort – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Boys Soccer

Two of the state’s powers met in the championship game of the Detroit Country Day Tournament on Saturday – with 2013 Division 1 runner-up Bloomfield Hills downing the host Yellowjackets 1-0 in a shootout – Oakland Press

Girls Swimming & Diving

Howell won its Kenzie Klassic, which honors swimmer Mackenize Watts, who died in 2005 at age 15. The school also raised enough money to award three scholarships and begin funding cardiac-related causes – Livingston Daily

Volleyball

Novi won the Lakeshore Classic by coming back after losing the first two games to beat Grand Haven 3-2 in a rematch of a 2014 Class A Semifinal – Muskegon Chronicle

Battle Creek Harper Creek, for the first time, won the gold championship at the long-running Carrie Adams Memorial Tournament hosted by reigning Class D champion Battle Creek St. Philip – Battle Creek Enquirer

Good Read

Mike Steele, a Midland Dow grad and now pitching coach at Long Beach State in California, argues that parents need to raise their athletes to compete instead of providing specific training in one sport – Midland Daily News