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: 12/8/16

December 8, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Wrestling season started Wednesday with matches all over the state, including the first of the 50th season for a highly-respected coach.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Boys Basketball

Oak Park freshman Malik Carr had 18 points and 16 rebounds off the bench in a 78-61 win over St. Clair Shores South Lake – Detroit News

From Tuesday, Munising’s Alec Blank sank two free throws with a second remaining to give his team a 59-57 win over Gwinn – Marquette Mining Journal

Girls Basketball

Bath downed Pewamo-Westphalia 48-36 in a key early-season Central Michigan Athletic Conference matchup – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

From Tuesday, Scottville Mason County Central earned an impressive 42-41 win over Fruitport Calvary Christian – Ludington Daily News

Also from Tuesday, Taylor Gauthier drilled two free throws with 20 seconds left to give Escanaba a 38-37 win over Negaunee – Escanaba Daily Press

Hockey

Mount Pleasant downed Midland for the first time in program history, 3-2 with three goals in the third period – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

With only nine skaters and one goalie available, Marysville got past Bloomfield Hills 3-0 – Clinton Township Voice

From Tuesday, Houghton scored five third-period goals to down Kingsford 9-3 – Iron Mountain Daily News

Boys Swimming & Diving

Okemos won the Waverly Relays, breaking a 15-year-old meet record in the 400-yard individual medley relay – Lansing State Journal

Wrestling

Whitehall, 26-2 last season, opened this winter with a 41-22 victory over Grand Haven – Muskegon Chronicle

Marysville kept the Blue Water Belt with wins over Algonac and Port Huron – Port Huron Times Herald

Midland celebrated its 50th season of wrestling with wins over Bay City Central and Saginaw Heritage – Midland Daily News

Good Reads

Battle Creek Harper Creek kicked off the season with a quad, but the story was the start of the 50th season for coach Dave Studer – Battle Creek Enquirer

The Macomb County basketball community is mourning the death of Tannisha Stevens, who scored more than 2,000 points starring for Mount Clemens from 1988-91 – Macomb Daily