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: 1/6/20

January 6, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The clashing of statewide wrestling powers and a nearly unbelievable performance on the ice highlighted a power-packed first weekend of 2020.

1. Wrestling: Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central, No. 2 Davison, No. 3 Brighton and Division 2 top-ranked Lowell took the top four team places, respectively, at the 56th DCC Invitational – Oakland Press

2. Hockey: Division 2 No. 2 Livonia Stevenson downed Hartland 5-2, with Seth Lause scoring an incredible three short-handed goals – Observer & Eccentric

3. Boys Basketball: Flint Beecher downed Benton Harbor 76-62 in a matchup of teams expected to make runs at Finals championships in March – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

4. Hockey: Division 1 No. 5 Brighton handed the first loss of the season to the last team without one, 3-2 to Division 3 top-ranked Calumet – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

5. Hockey: Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central earned a significant league win 6-0 over No. 4 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s – Oakland Press

6. Girls Basketball: Kelsey Richards went over 30 points for the fifth straight game as Fruitport Calvary Christian earned a 50-46 statement win over Central Montcalm – Muskegon Chronicle

7. Wrestling: Division 4 top-ranked Clinton followed a pair of individual champions to the team title at the 45th Dave Elliott Memorial Tournament – Adrian Daily Telegram

8. Boys Basketball: In another matchup of championship hopefuls, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s downed Grand Blanc 69-66 – Flint Journal

9. Girls Basketball: Hart continued its surge with a 51-35 win over Calvary Christian the day after the latter’s big win noted above – Muskegon Chronicle

10. Hockey: Ann Arbor Pioneer improved to 8-2 with a 2-1 win over rival Skyline in the final of the Jilek Cup – We Love Ann Arbor

Also of note …

Football: The football community is mourning the death of Zeeland West assistant Gasper Giarmo, who coached more than 30 years combined at seven schools including a decade at Byron Center – Grand Rapids Press