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: 1/22/20

January 22, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Tuesday was milestone day as four more of the state’s top girls basketball players went over 1,000 points for their careers, headlining an evening that also saw a number of upsets in multiple sports.

1. Girls Basketball: Ellie Droste joined Pewamo-Westphalia teammate Hannah Spitzley in going over 1,000 career points this season, reaching the milestone in a big win over Bath – Lansing State Journal

2. Girls Basketball: AJ Ediger went over 1,000 career points with 21 in Hamilton’s 41-29 win over Zeeland West – Holland Sentinel

3. Girls Basketball: Joanna Larsen went over 1,000 career points with 19 in Centreville’s 66-26 win over Mendon – Sturgis Journal

4. Girls Basketball: Gabi Saxman scored 29 points in Schoolcraft’s 57-30 win over Constantine to go over 1,000 for her career – JoeInsider.com

5. Boys Basketball: Thomas Kurowski tied a school record with 43 points, including four big ones over the final seconds, to lead Sturgis past Battle Creek Central 62-58 – Sturgis Journal

6. Boys Swimming & Diving: Pinckney – an honorable mention in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – got past LPD1 No. 10 Brighton for the first time in a long time, 96-90 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

7. Girls Basketball: Kent City dealt the first loss this season to Morley Stanwood, 75-33, thanks in part to 16 3-pointers – Muskegon Chronicle

8. Boys Basketball: Gaylord St. Mary defeated previously-unbeaten Pellston 59-54 to move up in the Ski Valley Conference – Gaylord Herald Times

9. Girls Basketball: Richland Gull Lake handed Three Rivers its first loss, 73-49 – Kalamazoo Gazette

10. Girls Basketball: Ubly moved into first place alone in the Greater Thumb Conference East with a 31-17 win over Sandusky – Huron Daily Tribune

Also of note …

Football: Recently retired pro Zach Line will take over Oxford from longtime coach Bud Rowley, who retired after this past season – State Champs Sports Network