Today in the MHSAA: 2/20/20

February 20, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Special for Second Half

Four teams celebrated their first MHSAA Team Wrestling Regional championships Wednesday as the field of 32 was determined across the state. We were able to gather coverage of two of those title celebrations, plus a number of other championship runs on the mat, ice and bowling lanes.

1. Wrestling: No. 7 Muskegon Reeths-Puffer won its first Team Regional title in this sport, downing Greenville and Allendale in Division 2 – Local Sports Journal

2. Wrestling: Division 3 No. 7 Fremont also won its first Regional title on the mat, with wins over Muskegon Orchard View and Comstock Park – Muskegon Chronicle

3. Wrestling: After falling to No. 9 Westland John Glenn in the postseason three straight seasons, No. 5 Temperance Bedford won the latest meeting to claim a Division 1 Regional title – Monroe News

4. Wrestling: No. 2 Gaylord edged No. 3 DeWitt 33-30 to lock up a Division 2 Regional championship – Gaylord Herald-Times

5. Wrestling: Mason upset No. 4 Eaton Rapids 33-27 on the way to claiming a Division 2 Regional title – Lansing State Journal

6. Wrestling: No. 3 Brighton got past No. 6 Holt 55-8 to clinch a Division 1 Regional title – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

7. Wrestling: No. 5 Hart downed Whittemore-Prescott to clinch a Division 4 Regional title, its first Regional championship since 1990 – Muskegon Chronicle

8. Hockey: Division 1 No. 2 Saginaw Heritage downed Division 3 No. 9 Midland Dow 2-0 to lock up the Saginaw Valley League championship – Midland Daily News

9. Wrestling: A last-second pin gave No. 10 New Boston Huron a 38-37 win over Gibraltar Carlson and a Division 2 Regional championship, its first Regional title since 2003 – Monroe News

10. Bowling: The Ravenna girls and Fruitport boys won Greater Muskegon Athletic Association championships – Local Sports Journal

NOTE: Croswell-Lexington and Kingsley also won their first Wrestling Team Regional championships Wednesday.

Also of note …

Football: Flint Beecher coach and athletic director Courtney Hawkins will be leaving the Bucs to join the Michigan State football staff – WJRT

Today in the MHSAA: 9/23/20

September 23, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The official first day of Fall in Michigan saw ranked opponents facing off against some of their toughest opponents to date in volleyball and cross country, plus a league championship tournament in golf.

1. Volleyball: No. 6 Charlevoix won a matchup of Division 3 ranked teams, defeating No. 10 Traverse City St. Francis in five sets – Petoskey News-Review

2. Cross Country: The LPD3 No. 13 Grass Lake girls team handed Hanover-Horton its first league loss since 2015 – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

3. Volleyball: Division 1 No. 10 Traverse City West downed Division 2 No. 6 Cadillac 17-15 in the deciding fifth set for a key league win – Up North Live

4. Cross Country: Pinckney’s boys – ranked No. 13 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – edged LPD1 No. 12 Brighton 26-29, while the No. 4 Brighton girls held off unranked Pinckney’s by the same score – Livingston Daily

5. Volleyball: Rudyard ran its Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference winning streak to 43 matches with a 3-1 win over Pickford – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

6. Girls Golf: Adrian Lenawee Christian shot a 393 to win the Independent Golf League championship tournament – JTV

7. Girls Swimming & Diving: Grand Blanc celebrated seven event winners in a 104-82 team victory over Midland Dow; they are honorable mentions in Divisions 1 and 2, respectively – Midland Daily News

8. Volleyball: Division 3 No. 4 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian came back for a five-set win over Ludington – Local Sports Journal

9. Volleyball: Edwardsburg downed Dowagiac 3-1 in a matchup of first-place teams in the Wolverine Conference – Niles Daily Star

10. Boys Soccer: Chelsea improved to 7-0 with a 2-0 win over Melvindale, the reigning Division 2 runner-up – Ann Arbor News

Also of note …

Boys Tennis: From Monday, Lansing Catholic earned a share of the Capital Area Activities Conference White title with a 7-1 win over Ionia – Greenville Daily News

Boys Basketball: Mark Gainforth retired after 24 seasons coaching Unionville-Sebewaing and with a 423-133 record – Bay City Times