Today In The MHSAA: 2/18/21

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

February 18, 2021

More league champions were celebrated in skiing Wednesday, with regional champions rising in Muskegon-area bowling and statewide elite facing off in competitive cheer, basketball and hockey.

1. Skiing: Harbor Springs’ girls clinched their 13th-straight Lake Michigan Conference title, and Great North Alpine claimed the boys title – Petoskey News-Review

2. Skiing: The Onekema girls and Benzie Central boys finished league title runs in the Lake Michigan Ski Conference – Traverse City Record-Eagle

3. Bowling: Whitehall’s girls won their first Greater Muskegon Athletic Association championship, while Fruitport’s boys repeated – Local Sports Journal

4. Competitive Cheer: Reigning Division 2 champion Allen Park topped reigning runner-up Gibraltar Carlson after the powers were separated by less than a point after Round 2 – Southgate News-Herald

5. Hockey: Division 3 No. 3 Flint Powers Catholic shut out Division 1 No. 4 Saginaw Heritage 5-0 – WJRT

6. Boys Basketball: Orchard Lake St. Mary’s got past Grand Blanc 65-52 in a matchup of highly-regarded contenders – Oakland Press

7. Hockey: Division 2 No. 4 Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice downed Division 1 No. 2 Brighton 4-2 – Observer & Eccentric

8. Hockey: Division 1 No. 6 Traverse Bay Reps downed Division 2 No. 8 Traverse City Central 3-1 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

9. Girls Basketball: Carly McCrum went over 1,000 career points as Bay City John Glenn downed Alma 41-32 – Bay City Times

10. Girls Basketball: Although New Lothrop lost 52-47 to Linden, the Hornets’ Brooke Wenzlick went over 1,000 career points – Owosso Argus-Press

Also of note …

Athletic Directors: East Grand Rapids’ Tim Johnston, an MHSAA Bush Award honoree this past year, will retire this summer after 38 years in educational athletics – Grand Rapids Press

Today in the MHSAA: 2/28/19

February 28, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Wednesday was filled with upsets galore as we kick off the headlines with a pair of Hockey Regional surprises and move into Boys Basketball Districts and a big night for Byron’s girls hoops team.

1. Hockey: Big Rapids upset its second straight ranked opponent this week, downing No. 8 Flint Powers Catholic 8-4 in a Division 3 Regional Semifinal – Big Rapids News

2. Hockey: No. 6 Detroit Country Day downed No. 3 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 3-1 in another Division 3 Regional Semifinal – Oakland Press

3. Boys Basketball: Grand Rapids Catholic Central came back from a 15-point deficit to defeat Grand Rapids Christin 71-63 in a Division 2 District Semifinal – Grand Rapids Press

4. Hockey: Division 3 No. 11 East Grand Rapids scored the game winner with 16 seconds to play in a 5-4 victory over No. 14 Grand Rapids Catholic Central – WOOD TV

5. Boys Basketball: Unionville-Sebewaing won a Division 3 District matchup of champions from the Greater Thumb Conference, downing Harbor Beach 70-51 – Huron Daily Tribune

6. Boys Basketball: Saline stunned Ann Arbor Pioneer, 63-52 in a Division 1 District Semifinal – Detroit News

7. Boys Basketball: Last place Gaylord upset Big North Conference co-champion Petoskey 49-38 in Division 1 – Gaylord Herald Times

8. Boys Basketball: Canton downed Westland John Glenn 67-61 in a Division 1 matchup showcasing two Mr. Basketball Award finalists – State Champs!

9. Girls Basketball: Byron clinched a share of the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference title, and Maylee Hatt went over 1,000 career points against Durand – Flint Journal

10. Boys Basketball: Schoolcraft avenged its two regular-season losses to Kalamazoo Hackett with a 60-58 win in Division 3 – JoeInsider.com

Also of note …

Girls Basketball: Detroit Edison’s Rickea Jackson, Grosse Pointe North’s Julia Ayrault, Saginaw Heritage’s Moira Joiner and Muskegon’s Alyza Winston were named finalists for the Miss Basketball Award – State Champs!

Boys Basketball: Mason Bakker went over 1,000 career points although Zeeland West fell to Hudsonville in Division 1 – Holland Sentinel

Officiating: Dowagiac’s Randy Melvin will retire from officiating after this week and 46 years serving high school sports – Niles Daily Star

Girls Basketball: From Tuesday, Pittsford claimed its sixth straight Southern Central Athletic Association East title with a 53-45 win over Camden-Frontier – Hillsdale Daily News