Today in the MHSAA: 2/8/19

February 8, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Team District competition continued in wrestling Thursday, and boys swimming & diving contributed a pair of headlines as well including arguably our most impressive of the day.

1. Boys Swimming & Diving: Thursday’s win over East Kentwood left Holland West Ottawa’s seniors undefeated in duals and invitationals for their career; West Ottawa is ranked No. 1 in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – Holland Sentinel

2. Wrestling: No. 2 Richmond downed No. 5 Algonac on the way to claiming a Division 3 District title – Macomb Daily

3. Wrestling: St. Clair Shores Lakeview clinched its fourth straight District title, downing Grosse Pointe South in Division 1 – C&G Newspapers

4. Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD3 No. 3 Spring Lake broke five records in defeating honorable mention Grand Rapids Catholic Central 100-72 – Grand Haven Tribune

5. Girls Basketball: West Bloomfield defeated second-place Auburn Hills Avondale 54-36 to remain unbeaten in the Oakland Activities Association White – Oakland Press

6. Boys Basketball: New Haven broke open its Macomb Area Conference Red/White Tournament opener during the fourth quarter, emerging with a 66-52 victory – Detroit News

7. Hockey: Division 2 No. 7 Davison edged Escanaba 5-4 at the Michigan Public High School Hockey Showcase – Escanaba Daily Press

8. Wrestling: No. 7 Mendon advanced with a 51-20 Division 4 District title win over Athens – Sturgis Journal

9. Wrestling: Kalamazoo Central downed Loy Norrix to claim a Division 1 District championship – WWMT

10. Girls Basketball: Reigning Class D champ Adrian Lenawee Christian won a matchup of small-school powers, 73-47 over Waterford Our Lady – Adrian Daily Telegram

Today in the MHSAA: 10/15/15

October 15, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Championship are won on a seemingly daily basis in October, and plenty were earned and celebrated Wednesday – but please also check out some great reads at the bottom of this list, including a look at why specialization is increasing as a nationwide concern.

Cross Country

The Saugatuck girls, ranked No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 4, won their ninth straight Southwestern Athletic Conference title with 12 runners earning all-league honors – Grand Rapids Press

Boys Soccer

LP Division 2 No. 5 East Lansing capped an impressive run through the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup by winning the final 3-1 over Grand Ledge – Lansing State Journal

LP Division 1 No. 15 East Kentwood secured its 12th Ottawa-Kent Conference Red title in 13 seasons with a 1-0 win over Grandville, helped in part by a pair of players whose ties the program go back to the early years of the run – Grand Rapids Press

LP Division 1 No. 7 Utica Ford shut out No. 14 Fraser to clinch the Macomb Area Conference Red championship – Macomb Daily

Unranked Birmingham Brother Rice stunned LP Division 1 No. 3 Detroit Catholic Central 2-1 in the championship game of the Detroit Catholic League A-B tournament – Oakland Press

LP Division 4 No. 11 Charlevoix clinched a share of the Lake Michigan Conference title with a 3-0 win over Grayling, thanks to a hat trick by Walker Drost – Charlevoix Courier

Saginaw Heritage scored the first goal Flint Powers Catholic had given up since Sept. 12, but the Chargers emerged with a 2-1 win and the overall Saginaw Valley League championship – Flint Journal

Volleyball

Lansing Catholic won the first volleyball league championship in its long history, beating Fowlerville in three sets to claim a share of the CAAC White title – Lansing State Journal

Good Reads

Single-sport specialization has become a topic of national focus and concern, and MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts was among association directors talked to for this report on why it’s a health-related issue and how states are working to promote multi-sport participation instead – NFHS.org

Vandercook Lake is enjoying its best football season in 45 years and plays for a league title this weekend, and is led by a three-sport athlete who has been on a long road back after Crohn’s disease led to his shedding 90 pounds only two years ago – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

The Christmas tree standing tall in front of the Capitol in Lansing this winter will come from Wakefield thanks to a donation by Florence Daniels in honor of her husband Jim, who coached Wakefield High's boys basketball team to 355 wins, 12 district the five regional titles in 28 seasons. He also was a member of Channing High’s Upper Peninsula championship team in 1944 and coached Al Inkala, who went on to become an MHSAA championship-winning girls tennis coach at Okemos – Lansing State Journal