Today in the MHSAA: 2/24/16

February 24, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A pair of Michigan’s top scorers earned milestone points Tuesday, while another girls basketball team earned a milestone win for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Girls Basketball

Muskegon Mona Shores junior Jordan Walker, a member of the MHSAA Student Advisory Council, became the fastest player in school history to score 1,000 career points, reaching the milestone with 29 in a 79-54 win over Zeeland East – Muskegon Chronicle

Berkley clinched a share of its first league title since 1988 with a 44-32 win over Birmingham Groves in the Oakland Activities Association Gold – Oakland Press

Boys Basketball

Steven Lloyd became the first player in Clinton Township Chippewa Hills history to score 1,000 career points, adding 17 to his total in a 50-29 win over Macomb L’Anse Creuse North – MLive-Detroit

Lansing Catholic made two free throws with two seconds to play to win a crossover matchup of league co-leaders in the Capital Area Activities Conference, 69-67 over DeWitt – MLive-Lansing

McBain remained undefeated by handing only the second loss this season to Frankfort, 61-54 in overtime – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Holland West Ottawa, which won its first 15 games, lost its second straight, 55-53 to Hudsonville – Grand Rapids Press

Saugatuck’s Blake Dunn scored a school-record 51 points in a 79-52 win over Lawton; girls star Kiri Tiemeyer had a career-high 34 in her team’s 56-31 win over the Blue Devils – Holland Sentinel

Houghton edged Lake Linden-Hubbell 50-48 in a matchup of the two best teams in the northern Upper Peninsula, handing the Lakes their first loss – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Gymnastics

From Saturday, Grand Ledge won its ninth straight Capital Area Activities Conference championship despite trailing Haslett/Williamston/Bath heading into the final rotation – Lansing State Journal

Ice Hockey

Division 1 No. 2 Brighton outlasted No. 8 Utica Eisenhower 6-4 – Livingston Daily

Today in the MHSAA: 8/31/15

August 31, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The final weekend of August was a giant weekend for MHSAA volleyball contenders, with some of the top regular-season events this fall providing opportunities for the best to see how they might match up when playoffs begin in two months.

Below are headlines for some of the key high school reports from across the state; the weekend’s football round-up will publish later this afternoon.  

Cross Country

Muskegon Reeths-Puffer’s Maryssa Depies set a course record of 18:11.3 to win the Big Red Invitational at McGraft Park – Muskegon Chronicle

Flint Powers Catholic’s top individual finisher came in ninth, but the Chargers girls as a team were first at the Lansing Catholic Invitational – Flint Journal

The reigning Lower Peninsula Division 2 champion Grand Rapids Christian boys repeated as winner of the prestigious Benzie Central Invitational, finishing ahead of Traverse City West and Central, while Central senior Anthony Berry won individually in 15:24 – Grand Rapids Press

Boys Soccer

Tawas, a Division 3 semifinalist last season, finished first from an Elk Rapids Invitational field that included Berkley and Saginaw Nouvel – Bay City Times

Volleyball

Lake Odessa Lakewood, last season’s Class B runner-up and the second-ranked team in that class this week, eliminated Class A No. 6 Grand Rapids Christian to win the West Michigan Volleyball Officials Association tournament for the first time in a decade – Grand Rapids Press

Class A No. 4 Grand Haven continued its perfect run at its outdoor Battle of the Boardwalk tournament, sweeping three opponents to remain undefeated through the event's third year – Grand Haven Tribune

Battle Creek Harper Creek, No. 9 in Class B, improved to 17-0 by winning the Cereal City Tournament at Pennfield with a 2-1 championship match win over Temperance Bedford, an MHSAA semifinalist last season in Class A – Battle Creek Enquirer

Good Reads

The Holland Sentinel introduced its top female athletes in that area’s history Sunday, and highlighted nationally-known softball star Kathy Arendsen and her successes during one of the MHSAA’s first Softball Finals – Holland Sentinel

Anyone who follows high school football history will enjoy going through the Muskegon Chronicle’s sampling of top-20 moments from that area’s football past – Muskegon Chronicle

More than 60 former Shepherd High School players from the last 25 seasons returned for an alumni doubleheader Sunday to honor coach Jack Nartker, who will retire after this spring – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun