Today in the MHSAA: 2/22/16
February 22, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A loaded weekend included Upper Peninsula Swimming & Diving Finals, Cheer Districts, Wrestling Individual Regionals and title-deciding matchups in girls and boys basketball – plus key contests in just about every MHSAA sport.
Girls Basketball
What’s become one of the top girls basketball rivalries in the state added another incredible chapter as Haslett beat DeWitt 61-59 in triple overtime in a matchup of Class A ranked teams – Lansing State Journal
Despite a nearly new cast this season, Bloomfield Hills Marian completed a Detroit Catholic League A-B championship with a 48-29 win over rival Farmington Hills Mercy in the tournament final – Oakland Press
Detroit Martin Luther King won its fifth straight Detroit Public School League title, just edging Detroit Renaissance 68-66 – Detroit Free Press
Despite a three-point loss to Saginaw, Addyson Tomczak became the second player in Bay City Central girls basketball history to score more than 1,000 career points – Bay City Times
Holt’s Kamrin Reed went over 1,000 career points recently against Okemos, and despite missing her junior season with a torn knee ligament – Lansing State Journal
Boys Basketball
Detroit East English continued to ride the strong play of Jaylin McFaddin and Kamari Newman to its first Detroit Public School League championship with an 86-62 win over Detroit Renaissance – Detroit News
St. Ignace clinched the Straits Area Conference title and Gage Kreski went over 2,000 points for his career in a 84-59 win over Newberry – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News
Frankfort finished its first back-to-back league titles since 1961-62, winning the Northwest Conference with a 50-48 win over Buckley – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Bowling
Portage Northern edged Portage Central 17-13 thanks in part to a 499 Baker series that ranks among the state’s best this season – Kalamazoo Gazette
Competitive Cheer
Reigning Division 4 champion Breckenridge took its first step toward a repeat, finishing first at the District at Ithaca – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Ice Hockey
Division 2 No. 10 Escanaba and Division 3 No. 3 Calumet finished tied in a matchup of two of the highest-ranked teams from the Upper Peninsula – Escanaba Daily Press
Jackson, No. 13 in Division 1, swept rival Jackson Lumen Christi for the first time, winning the second game this season 4-3 – Jackson Citizen-Patriot
Midland Dow, No. 14 in Division 2, came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat No. 4 Romeo 5-4 – Midland Daily News
Swimming and Diving
The Gladstone girls won their first MHSAA championship, riding a strong finish to stay ahead of Houghton and Marquette – Second Half
The Marquette boys won their third straight MHSAA title with a number of U.P. Finals record performances – Second Half
Wrestling
From a loaded Individual Regional at Byron Center, Lowell sent 11 wrestlers on to the MHSAA Finals and Allegan sent seven – Grand Rapids Press
Saginaw Swan Valley’s K.J. Suitor broke his school’s wins record with his 219th in winning a Division 3 Regional title at Richmond – Saginaw News
Good Read
We’ve gotten to see Yale superintendent Kenneth Nicholl in action as an administrator during the last two Battles of the Fans, and he’s also one of our state’s top high school wrestling officials – Port Huron Times Herald
Former MHSAA Representative Council member Bob Doctor has been selected for the Petoskey Athletic Hall of Fame. Doctor was on the Council during the early 1970s and was the school's longtime principal – Petoskey News
Today in the MHSAA: 2/7/19
February 7, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Team District competition began in wrestling Wednesday, but the biggest news came from the competitive cheer mat as the teams that have combined to win the last 11 Division 2 titles faced off with a league championship on the line.
1. Competitive Cheer: Allen Park ended Gibraltar Carlson’s five-year reign in the Downriver League with a 1.22-point victory; they are the highest-scoring teams in Division 2 statewide again this winter – Southgate News-Herald
2. Wrestling: Manton edged Lake City in Division 4 to claim its first District title in this sport in 18 years – Cadillac News
3. Wrestling: No. 8 Tecumseh defeated Adrian in Division 2 to clinch its 17th straight District title – Adrian Daily Telegram
4. Wrestling: No. 7 Clarkston claimed its 12th straight District title, in Division 1 – Oakland Press
5. Wrestling: Division 4 No. 8 Leroy Pine River clinched its 10th straight District title by downing Evart in the championship match – MI Sports Now
6. Wrestling: No. 7 Niles won its final seven matches to get past Stevensville Lakeshore in a Division 2 District Final – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
7. Wrestling: White Pigeon claimed its first District title since 2007 with a big win over Centreville in Division 4 – Sturgis Journal
8. Wrestling: Edwardsburg won its first District title in five years, coming back in the championship match to down Coldwater 39-31 in Division 2 – South Bend Tribune
9. Wrestling: Holland won its District Semifinal by tie-breaker before going on to down Zeeland East in the Division 2 District Final – Holland Sentinel
10. Hockey: Division 2 No. 1 Hartland continued its recent success against Brighton, downing the Division 1 No. 4 Bulldogs 4-0 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Also of note …
Perspective: There’s a lot of wisdom in this guest column from successful Richmond wrestling coach Brandon Day as he explains how things have changed for kids growing up playing sports – Port Huron Times-Herald
Girls Basketball: Asaria Turman went over 1,000 career points to lead Ann Arbor Pioneer past Saline – We Love Ann Arbor
Boys Basketball: Blake Charboneau went over 1,000 career points in leading Gaylord past West Branch Ogemaw Heights – Gaylord Times Herald