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: 9/17/15
September 17, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Today’s know-your-sports checklist includes catching up on impressive feats by some of the state’s top-ranked girls golf teams and enjoying a pair of inspirational stories about leading soccer scorers.
Girls Golf
Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 4 Lake Orion won the Oakland County Division 1 Tournament for the second straight season, edging No. 6 Novi by one shot and No. 1 Rochester by two – Oakland Press
Three Spring Lake golfers carded three birdies apiece to lead the LP Division 3 No. 1 Lakers to a 53-stroke win in the Lakes 8 jamboree on their home course – Muskegon Chronicle
Boys Soccer
Freeland improved to 11-1 with its first win over Saginaw Swan Valley in three seasons, also handing the Vikings their first loss this fall – Saginaw News
Boys Tennis
Midland Dow, No. 1 in Lower Peninsula Division 2, fell to No. 3 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central at the Midweek Classic, but still won the tournament thanks to No. 6 Detroit U-D Jesuit’s win over FHC – Midland Daily News and Saginaw News
Volleyball
Ionia swept reigning Capital Area Activities Conference White champion Williamston, beating the Hornets for the first time under sixth-year coach Jeanna Kraatz – Ionia Sentinel-Standard
Niles emerged as the biggest winner from the SMAC 6-Pack Tournament on its home floor with victories over Battle Creek Lakeview, Battle Creek Central and Richland Gull Lake, all in two games – Niles Daily Star
Bay City John Glenn improved to 9-1 with a win over Tawas, opening North East Michigan Conference play as the reigning champion and with nearly the same lineup as in 2014 – Bay City Times
Good Reads
We’re big fans of athletes who play multiple sports, and Port Huron’s Jon Miller is one of the latest – he’s the soccer team’s leading scorer and the top field goal kicker in school history, plus one of the football team’s leading receivers. A great line from the story: “But if there’s one kid that can take this on, it’s the kid that’s loading his senior year with as many memories as possible.” – Port Huron Times-Herald
Andrew Shippell is Marshall’s leading scorer this season, and after three years of fighting is preparing to celebrate a milestone – the end of his chemotherapy in February – Battle Creek Enquirer