Today in the MHSAA: 2/28/17

February 28, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The Michigan high school skiing season came to an end Monday with three repeat champions and a first-time title-winner, while girls basketball and hockey tournaments kicked off and a 2016 champion was eliminated on the first night.

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. 

Girls Basketball

Caledonia upset host East Grand Rapids 53-50 in a Class A District opener – Grand Rapids Press

Saginaw Swan Valley earned an impressive win in Class B, downing host Birch Run 43-28 – Saginaw News

Kalamazoo Hackett got past rival Kalamazoo Christian 44-33 in Class C by scoring the game’s final 12 points – Kalamazoo Gazette

Gladwin’s Carly Hickey made the MHSAA record book grabbing 26 rebounds in her team’s 58-49 Class B win over Pinconning – Bay City Times

Pinckney earned its first District win in 12 years, upsetting Saline 40-31 in Class A – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Hockey

In a matchup of top Division 3 teams, No. 3 Calumet eliminated reigning MHSAA champion and No. 4-ranked Hancock 2-1 in a Pre-Regional – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Skiing

Marquette’s boys won their fifth straight Division 1 championship, this time at Nub’s Nob – Second Half

Marquette’s girls also were repeat champions in Division 1 – Second Half

Petoskey’s boys extended their Division 2 championship streak to seven straight – Second Half

Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central’s girls won their first MHSAA title, in Division 2 at Boyne Highlands – Second Half

Today in the MHSAA: 8/24/15

August 24, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

All MHSAA fall sports but football kicked off competition last week, with cross country, boys soccer, girls swimming and diving and volleyball starting Saturday.

Below are some notable headlines from the first weekend of this season, plus links to coverage.

Cross Country

St. Johns hosted its second “Under the Lights” meets Friday; Ithaca’s girls and Saugatuck’s boys bested fields loaded with much larger opponents – Lansing State Journal

The St. Joseph girls and Bridgman boys won championships at the Niles Stampede – the St. Joseph girls, who finished fourth in Lower Peninsula Division 2 last season, by a large margin – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Girls Golf

Maple City Glen Lake’s Nichole Cox, last season’s LP Division 4 individual champion, came back to defeat Brighton freshman Annie Pietila at the two-day Lober Invitational at Grand Traverse Resort – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Boys Soccer

Two of the state’s powers met in the championship game of the Detroit Country Day Tournament on Saturday – with 2013 Division 1 runner-up Bloomfield Hills downing the host Yellowjackets 1-0 in a shootout – Oakland Press

Girls Swimming & Diving

Howell won its Kenzie Klassic, which honors swimmer Mackenize Watts, who died in 2005 at age 15. The school also raised enough money to award three scholarships and begin funding cardiac-related causes – Livingston Daily

Volleyball

Novi won the Lakeshore Classic by coming back after losing the first two games to beat Grand Haven 3-2 in a rematch of a 2014 Class A Semifinal – Muskegon Chronicle

Battle Creek Harper Creek, for the first time, won the gold championship at the long-running Carrie Adams Memorial Tournament hosted by reigning Class D champion Battle Creek St. Philip – Battle Creek Enquirer

Good Read

Mike Steele, a Midland Dow grad and now pitching coach at Long Beach State in California, argues that parents need to raise their athletes to compete instead of providing specific training in one sport – Midland Daily News