Today in the MHSAA: 2/15/16

February 15, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Two of Michigan’s last undefeated girls basketball teams saw perfect records fall over the weekend, while wrestlers all over the state kept their seasons going during the first round of the individual tournament and a last-second shot sent one of Detroit’s best to a league final.  

Boys Basketball

Jaylin McFadden’s steal and basket at the buzzer sent Detroit East English to the Public School League championship game with a 71-70 win over Detroit Collegiate Prep – Detroit Free Press

Big Rapids – coached by Kent Ingles – downed Howard City Tri-County, coached by his son Zach Ingles, in a rare father/son matchup – Big Rapids News

Girls Basketball

Midland Dow handed the first loss this season to Class A top-ranked Saginaw Heritage, 48-40 – Midland Daily News

Niles Brandywine extended its home winning streak to 77 straight in handing Stevensville Lakeshore its first loss this season, 53-44 – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Detroit Country Day came back from a 19-point deficit to defeat Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 37-33, scoring the game’s final 23 points – Detroit Free Press

Bowling

Wayland’s girls won the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green/Gold title by 207 pins – Grand Rapids Press

Swimming & Diving

The Howell boys team downed Brighton by 45 points to cap its first undefeated regular season – Livingston Daily

St. Clair set five school records during the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association meet – Port Huron Times Herald

Wrestling

All 14 of Richmond’s wrestlers advanced and 11 won championships at Saturday’s Division 3 Individual District on its home mat – Macomb Daily

Davison had 11 finalists and seven champions at its Division 1 Individual District at Bay City Western – Flint Journal

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