Today in the MHSAA: 2/8/16

February 8, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The weekend provided previews of MHSAA championship contenders in gymnastics, cheer and hockey, and also basketball with a matchup of two girls teams that could come away from this winter with titles and the reigning Class D boys champ shining again.

Girl Basketball

A last-second 3-pointer by Lauryn Carroll gave Ypsilanti Arbor Prep a 50-47 win over previously-undefeated Bay City John Glenn, considered arguably the top team in the state regardless of class – Bay City Times

Detroit Country Day edged Southfield-Lathrup 56-52 in a matchup of contenders in Class B and A, respectively – Oakland Press

Mona Shores locked down the usually-potent offense of rival Muskegon in defeating the Big Reds 55-34 – Muskegon Chronicle

Boys Basketball

Reigning Class D champion Powers North Central remained undefeated by handing a first loss to Crystal Falls Forest Park, 68-54 – Escanaba Daily Press

Southfield Christian just edged Belleville 70-69 for its 12th straight win – MLive-Detroit

Competitive Cheer

Reigning Division 1 champion Rochester finished ahead of a strong field to clinch the Oakland Activities Association Red championship – Oakland Press

Gymnastics

Rockford/Sparta, the reigning MHSAA champion, showed it’s the team to beat again this winter by claiming the championship at the prestigious Canton Invitational. Howell finished second and Farmington third – Canton Athletics

Hockey

The Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League Showcase pitted many of the state’s top teams with some of the key results a 3-0 win by Division 2 No. 3 Livonia Stevenson over Division 3 No. 1 Grand Rapids Catholic Central and 4-3 by unranked Houghton over Division 1 No. 3 Detroit U-D Jesuit – MIHL

Swimming & Diving

Warren DeLaSalle’s boys won their fourth straight Macomb County Invitational, finishing more than 300 points ahead of the field – Macomb Daily

Wrestling

Springport won its seventh straight Big 8 Conference championship, setting a league record in dominating its competition this time – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Allegan won its 12th straight Wolverine Conference title, finishing far ahead of the field and with three individual champions – Kalamazoo Gazette

Niles finished its championship run in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Good Read

Former opponents no doubt remember facing Marshall basketball standout Kari Searles on the court; many who supported her as a player supported her again Friday with a donation toward her care as she fights lung cancer – Battle Creek Enquirer

Today in the MHSAA: 1/30/17

January 30, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Powers North Central set an MHSAA record for longest boys basketball winning streak Friday, and you can find separate coverage of that here. But there were a number of other highlights to promote from the weekend, including some key hockey matchups and a long list of impressive girls basketball accomplishments.

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

Grand Rapids Catholic Central continued its surge with a 42-34 win over reigning Class B champion Marshall – Grand Rapids Press

Michigan Center won its 10th game this season, 36-29 over 2016 Class B semifinalist Bay City John Glenn – Jackson Citizen Patriot

Goodrich avenged an earlier loss to Flint Hamady to take over first place in the Genesee Area Conference Red with a 54-36 win in the rematch – Flint Journal

Mary Liedel became the first player in Erie-Mason girls history to score 1,000 points, passing the milestone in a 60-50 win over Brooklyn Columbia Central – Monroe Evening News

Ionia’s Jaylynn Williams also passed 1,000 career points, with 26 in a 44-38 win over Portland – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

From Thursday, Newberry’s Taylor Bryant broke her school’s career scoring record for both girls and boys – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Boys Basketball

Powers North Central broke Chassell’s 59-year-old MHSAA record for longest winning streak, earning a 66th-straight win by downing Bark River-Harris 76-29 – Escanaba Daily Press

Detroit Catholic Central also avenged an early-season loss, downing Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 70-56 – MLive-Detroit

Lansing Catholic upset Williamston 76-72, handing the Hornets their second loss this season – Lansing State Journal

Competitive Cheer

Division 1 No. 8 Rochester edged honorable mention Lake Orion by less than a point to finish first among Division 1 teams and overall at the Dragons’ invitational – Oakland Press

Gymnastics

Canton won its latest matchup with rival Farmington, finishing first at the White Lake Lakeland Invitational while Northville finished third in a loaded field – Observer & Eccentric

Hockey

No. 2 Brighton won a matchup of the top-ranked teams in Division 1, edging No. 1 Detroit Catholic Central 2-1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Hartland, No. 1 in Division 2, also won impressively 3-0 over No. 4 Livonia Stevenson – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Skiing

Petoskey’s girls and boys teams shined against top downstate competition in sweeping championships at the Pintail Slalom Invitational – Petoskey News-Review

Wrestling

Hamilton coach Gregg Stoel reached 500 wins during the Montague Invitational – Grand Rapids Press

Macomb County teams went a combined 22-3 against Oakland County at the Gold Division meet – Macomb Daily

Stevensville Lakeshore beat rival and Division 2 No. 10 Niles by 21 points to win the Greater Berrien County Invitational – South Bend Tribune

Good Read

It’s been more than 20 years since Jeff McCullough’s death after a fight with cancer, but his memory lives on in Traverse City hockey among players who weren’t born until after he passed – Traverse City Record-Eagle