Today in the MHSAA: 2/18/19

February 18, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Wrestling Regionals, Cheer Districts and more than a dozen hockey, basketball and bowling league championships won over the weekend make today’s list of high achievers perhaps the longest so far this 2018-19 school year – and check elsewhere on Second Half for coverage of our first winter Finals in Upper Peninsula swimming & diving.

1. Boys Basketball: Oscoda tied a school record with its 17th win and clinched the North Star League Big Dipper title, its first conference championship since 1991, with a 61-39 victory over Whittemore-Prescott – WBKB

2. Hockey: Division 3 No. 9 Alpena downed Traverse City Central 5-0 to clinch its first Big North Conference title since 2004-05 – Alpena News

3. Girls Basketball: Detroit Mumford repeated as Detroit Public School League Tournament champion with a 59-49 win over Detroit Martin Luther King – State Champs!

4. Wrestling: No. 2 Brighton qualified a Livingston County-record 13 for the Individual Finals from Saturday’s Division 1 Regional – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

5. Boys Basketball: Wyoming Godwin Heights clinched its 10th straight Ottawa-Kent Conference Silver title with a 63-44 win over Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian – FOX 17

6. Boys Basketball: Detroit U-D Jesuit clinched its seventh straight Detroit Catholic League A-B Tournament title with a 63-54 win over Detroit Catholic Central – Detroit News

7. Boys Basketball: Detroit Cass Tech downed Detroit Renaissance 80-56 to win the Detroit PSL Tournament title – Detroit News

8. Boys Basketball: Benton Harbor won a matchup of Division 2 championship contenders, 72-62 over River Rouge – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

9. Basketball: Kinross Maplewood Baptist’s girls and boys basketball teams won Northern Lights Conference Tournament titles, Ellie Bell going over 1,000 career points for the girls during their run – MI Sports Now

10. Competitive Cheer: Reigning Division 2 champion Allen Park won its District, ahead of runner-up Dearborn Divine Child – Southgate News-Herald

Also of note …

Gymnastics: Jackson Area finished first and Coldwater second at the South Central Gymnastics League Championship meet, Coldwater finishing its highest since 1989 – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Boys Bowling: Gaylord put the finishing touches on a second straight Northern Michigan Bowling Conference championship – Gaylord Herald Times

Boys Bowling: Division 4 top-ranked Bronson clinched the Kensington Valley Association championship – Sturgis Journal

Boys Basketball: Josh Palo went over 1,000 career points in Howell’s 57-45 win over Novi – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Boys Basketball: Ovid-Elsie claimed a share of the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference title with a 69-66 double-overtime win over Mount Morris – Owosso Argus-Press

Boys Basketball: Richmond clinched its second straight Blue Water Area Conference title with a 51-41 win over Almont – Port Huron Times-Herald

Bowling: The Rockford girls and Caledonia boys claimed O-K Red championships at the league tournament – Grand Haven Tribune

Boys Basketball: Ionia clinched the outright Capital Area Activities Conference White title with a big win over Lansing Catholic – Greenville Daily News

Girls Basketball: Muskegon clinched the O-K Black championship with a 72-66 win over Jenison – Local Sports Journal

Boys Basketball: Fremont clinched the Central State Activities Association Gold title with a 60-58 overtime win over Grant – Local Sports Journal

Bowling: New Boston Huron’s girls and boys teams swept the Monroe County Invitational titles; the girls are ranked No. 4 and the boys No. 10 in Division 2 – Monroe News

Boys Basketball: Royal Oak Shrine defeated Ann Arbor Greenhills to win the Catholic League C-D title – Oakland Press

Did You See That? (April 29-May 5)

May 7, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The resignation of one of Michigan's winningest boys basketball coaches made arguably the biggest headlines during a week that also saw sad news about two more coaches who will be remembered fondly in their respective communities. 

But before we get to those, here's also a look at the story of another coach making his way back from a challenging situation: 

Good Read of the Week

DeWitt welcomed back by his teams: Last Monday's Holland Calvary vs. Holland Freedom Christian baseball doubleheader at Fifth Third Ballpark was more than just a chance to play some big games on a bigger-than-usual stage. The teams also welcomed coach Lanny DeWitt, who coaches basketball at Calvary and baseball and Freedom Christian and is recovering from a stroke suffered March 20. (Holland Sentinel)

Boys Basketball/Volleyball

Keener leaves for Arizona: Detroit Country Day boys basketball coach Kurt Keener – whose 678 victories are second in MHSAA history only to legendary River Rouge coach Lofton Greene – announced he was leaving Country Day after 35 years Friday to move to Arizona, where he will coach a high school team in Scottsdale. Keener led Country Day this winter to its ninth MHSAA boys hoops title. (Oakland Press)

Mona Shores hires veteran leaders: Muskegon Mona Shores announced Wednesday that it hired former Muskegon Community College athletic director and men’s basketball coach Gene Gifford to take over its boys hoops program, and former Fruitport coach Dan Potts to take over the volleyball program. Potts led Fruitport to the 2005 MHSAA Class B championship. (Muskegon Chronicle)

Girls Basketball

Detroit mourns Knott: The Detroit Public School League and its basketball community are mourning the death of recently-retired Detroit Cody girls hoops coach Charles Knott, who was reportedly shot and killed Tuesday. Knott – hired at Cody in 1988 – was a graduate of Detroit Southeastern and also coached softball during his tenure.  (Detroit News)

Softball

D2 powers split: Division 2 No. 4 Coloma and honorable mention Portland split a doubleheader Wednesday. Portland won the first 1-0 before Coloma handed the Raiders their first loss this season, 2-1. (Ionia Sentinel-Standard)

Stevenson surges: Sterling Heights Stevenson moved up to No. 1 in Division 1 this week in part because of a split Saturday against previously top-ranked and now No. 5-Mattawan. (Kalamazoo Gazette)

Boys Golf

Lansing Catholic dominates: The Cougars, keyed by senior Jacob Johnson and junior Brent Marshall, won Friday’s Capital Area Activities Conference Open by nine strokes over East Lansing. The event matches the teams from all four divisions of the CAAC, which currently includes four top 10-ranked teams including Division 2 No. 1 Haslett and Lansing Catholic – which is No. 1 in Division 3.  (Lansing State Journal)

Lakeview cards record: Battle Creek Lakeview shot a 290 during the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Association Championships last week at Island Hills Golf Club in Centreville, breaking the previous team record of 295 shot in 2010. Lakeview is ranked No. 5 in Division 1. (Battle Creek Enquirer)

Girls Track and Field

Bark River-Harris reigns in Central U.P.: The Broncos – who finished ninth at last season’s MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 3 Final – clinched their second Central Upper Peninsula Conference title in three seasons Tuesday by edging Rapid River by nine points and Eben Junction Superior Central by 43. Superior Central was runner-up at that MHSAA Division 3 Final last spring.  (Escanaba Daily Press)

Boys Track and Field

Algonac tops at Muskrat Classic: Algonac not only won the Division 2 portion of its annual invitational, but scored 100 points to top all of the Division 1 schools as well. (Port Huron Times-Herald)

Baseball

Hessbrook throws third no-hitter: Ithaca’s Logan Hessbrook threw not only his third no-hitter of the season Thursday, but his second straight as the Yellowjackets downed St. Charles 15-0 and then 4-0 in a doubleheader. He had seven strikeouts in seven innings. (Saginaw News)

DCC gains big split: Unranked Detroit Catholic Central earned a 9-8 win over No. 3 Birmingham Brother Rice on Thursday before falling 4-1 in the second game. (Mlive Detroit)

Football

Williams heads to Ypsilanti: Lamanzer Williams – who played at the University of Minnesota and also has served as football coach at Kalamazoo Central and Inkster – has resigned as Holland High football coach after one season to become athletic director at the new Ypsilanti Community High School. (AnnArbor.com)

Grand Rapids mourns Julian: Former Grand Rapids West Catholic and Grand Rapids Community College football coach Fred Julian died Saturday after a battle against prostate cancer. The Detroit Pershing grad taught and coached at West Catholic for 16 seasons and also played professionally for the old American Football League’s New York Titans. (Grand Rapids Press)

Wrestling

Boyer nears end at Pennfield: Larry Boyer, who led Battle Creek Pennfield's wrestling team to a 1992 MHSAA title, will retire from the school after this spring and 36 years including the last 13 as athletic director. He also has coached football and track and field. (Battle Creek Enquirer)