Today in the MHSAA: 3/1/16
March 1, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Four more MHSAA championships were awarded Monday, while the Girls Basketball District Tournament tipped off with a new scoring record.
Girls Basketball
Benton Harbor’s Kysre Gondrezick scored an MHSAA-record 72 points to lead her team past Buchanan 80-78 in double overtime of a Class B District opener – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Reigning Class A champion Bloomfield Hills Marian opened District play with a 44-38 win over Bloomfield Hills, the 600th win of coach Mary Cicerone’s career – Detroit News
Maple City Glen Lake moved to 19-2 with a Class C win over Johannesburg-Lewiston, which finished 18-2 – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Spring Lake edged Fruitport 47-42, ending the latter’s season after it won its first league title – Muskegon Chronicle
Warren Mott earned its first District win since 2001, downing Troy Athens in Class A 50-49 – Macomb Daily
East Lansing eliminated reigning Class B runner-up Haslett – now in Class A – in a District opener, 60-42 – Lansing State Journal
Reigning Class C champion Calumet opened with a 41-34 win over Hancock, one of the most successful teams on the Copper Kings’ immediate path toward returning to East Lansing – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
Ice Hockey
Division 1 No. 15 Rochester downed Lake Orion 5-2 in a Division 1 Pre-Regional after being eliminated by the Dragons the last two seasons – Oakland Press
Division 3 No. 1 Saginaw Heritage downed No. 8 Flint Powers Catholic 3-2 in a Pre-Regional rematch – Saginaw News
Skiing
The Marquette girls won their first championship in six seasons, finishing first in Division 1 – Second Half
The Marquette boys scored a mere 22 points to hold on to the Division 1 title – Second Half
The Petoskey boys won their sixth straight MHSAA championship, dominating Division 2 – Second Half
The Elk Rapids/Traverse St. Francis girls won by the slimmest of margins to claim a Division 2 title – Second Half
Boys Swimming & Diving
In a meet that finished up Monday, Midland Dow won its 14th straight Saginaw Valley League title – Midland Daily News
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