Today in the MHSAA: 2/29/16
February 29, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This was a weekend filled with championships – Team Finals in wrestling, Regionals in competitive cheer and bowling and league in basketball, hockey, and swimming & diving. We’ve found coverage of at least some from every sport.
Boys Basketball
Kalamazoo Hackett won its first league title in 26 years, downing rival Kalamazoo Christian to clinch its division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference – Kalamazoo Gazette
Haslett’s Brandon Allen became the leading scorer in his school’s history, adding 14 points for a total of 1,629 in a win over Lansing Waverly – Lansing State Journal
Detroit U-D Jesuit won big against Warren DeLaSalle, 70-45, to claim a fourth straight Detroit Catholic League A-B title – MLive-Detroit
Royal Oak Shrine downed Waterford Our Lady 49-38 to win the C-D Catholic League Tournament, its first league title since 1978 – Oakland Press
Brandon Winchester-Jones became the fourth player in Dowagiac history to score 1,000 points, doing so in a 65-60 win over Vicksburg – Niles Daily Star
Gage Kreski continued to climb the career scoring ladder, adding 46 points in a win over Pellston to set the Upper Peninsula record with 2,141 total – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News
Girls Basketball
Frankenmuth pushed its Tri-Valley Conference East winning streak to 96 straight with a big victory over Millington – Saginaw News
Bowling
The Tecumseh girls won their 10th straight Regional, besting the field in Taylor by 221 pins – Adrian Daily Telegram
Caledonia’s Brittney Schnicke won the first individual Regional bowling title in her school’s history – pulling off the feat less than a year after accidentally severing the tips of two of her fingers – Grand Rapids Press
Competitive Cheer
Sanford Meridian edged Houghton Lake by a mere four tenths of a point to earn a Division 4 Regional championship – Midland Daily News
Ice Hockey
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard finished with its best record in school history, shutting out Dearborn Divine Child to move to 18-5 – Ann Arbor News
Boys Swimming & Diving
Spring Lake won 11 of 12 events in its final Coastal Conference meet to claim the league meet championship on its way to moving to the Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue next season – Grand Haven Tribune
Wrestling
After a number of runner-up finishes, Hartland won its first MHSAA team championship, downing Davison – Second Half
Lowell earned its third straight Division 2 title, besting rival St. Johns in what has become a near-annual Finals matchup – Second Half
Dundee remained Division 3 champion, but this time with a perfect record – Second Half
New Lothrop also ran its championship streak to three with a win over frequent Finals opponent Hudson – Second Half
Good Read
Richmond brothers Zack and Alex Roberts competed in Friday’s MHSAA Wrestling Quarterfinals at the wish of their mother Shelly, who was placed in hospice last week amid a fight with cancer – Macomb Daily
Today in the MHSAA: 1/11/16
January 11, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The first full sports weekend of 2016 included notable performances in a number of sports, highlighted by one of the top swimming and diving meets of the regular season.
Girls Basketball
Ithaca girls basketball coach Bob Anderson earned his 700th win as his team beat Carrollton 66-40; he’s coached both girls and boys teams to success over 27 seasons – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Durand handed Goodrich its first league loss in seven years while staying undefeated this season in the Genesee Area Conference Red – Flint Journal
DeWitt remained undefeated at 8-0 after handing Lansing Waverly its first loss this season in a matchup of two of the Lansing area’s top teams – Lansing State Journal
St. Joseph moved to 6-1 with a 72-35 win over Benton Harbor, a semifinalist in Class B last season – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Saranac was missing its leading scorer, but still managed to get past annual Class D power Portland St. Patrick 41-33 – Ionia Sentinel-Standard
Boys Basketball
Okemos handed Holt its first loss this season and won its first game on the Rams’ home court since 2010 – Lansing State Journal
Ice Hockey
Portage Central earned a win that could boost it into the state rankings, downing Division 1 No. 10 East Kentwood 2-1 on Saturday in Muskegon – Kalamazoo Gazette
Boys Swimming & Diving
Division 2 No. 1 Dexter scored 409 points to beat No. 4 Warren DeLaSalle by 33 at the annual Spartan Invitational at Battle Creek Lakeview, with the field also including reigning champion Birmingham Seaholm and Division 1 contender Ann Arbor Skyline – Battle Creek Enquirer
Lower Peninsula Division 1 honorable mention Grand Rapids Forest Hills defeated a field that included LPD2 No. 6 Midland Dow at the Forest Hills Invitational – Midland Daily News
Wrestling
Unranked Westland John Glenn got past Division 1 No. 9 New Baltimore Anchor Bay to win the Michigan Duals at Bay City Western over a field that also included No. 8 Western and Division 3 No. 5 Remus Chippewa Hills – Mlive-Detroit
Division 2 No. 9 Sparta won the Dave Dunneback Tournament with 247 points, ahead of Lake Odessa Lakewood, Belding and Division 3 No. 6 Grand Rapids Catholic Central – Grand Rapids Press
Football
Mike McDowell returned four seasons ago for his second stint coaching Morenci and led the program to its best finishes in nearly two decades. He recently resigned – Adrian Daily Telegram
Good Reads
Longtime coach Keith Haske remains cancer-free after fighting Stage 4 throat cancer only a year ago – and he’s added significantly to his day, becoming the girls basketball coach in addition to leading the boys program at Traverse City St. Francis. The Record-Eagle’s Brett Sommers documented a typical Haske day – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Carleton Airport senior Jessica Book is her school’s Homecoming Queen this year – and a cheerleader – and a wrestler – and plans to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps and defuse bombs – Monroe Evening News