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: 1/5/16

January 5, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Winter sports return in force with a full slate of events statewide tonight, but here are a few headlines of note as we get rolling – plus two great reads from the wrestling world.

Boys Basketball

Ishpeming in recent seasons has scheduled its first basketball games later than other teams to offset the football team’s four straight runs to the MHSAA Finals at Ford Field – but the Hematites were one of the first to play in 2016 and came away with a 74-72 win over Gladstone to move to 2-0 – Marquette Mining Journal

Girls Bowling

From Sunday, two-time reigning Division 2 champion Flint Kearsley got past 2015 Division 1 finalist Jackson to win the Lila Jean Furnish Classic in Owosso, which included a number of the state’s top teams – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Good Reads

When Clinton wrestler Nick Rolland was 3, his parents were told to say their good-byes after he was pulled from under a running lawn mower. But doctors were able to save his life, and then his leg, and this weekend he’ll wrestle for his 100th career win – Adrian Daily Telegram

Hastings wrestling coach Mike Goggins started out as an athlete for the Saxons, later coached at the middle school and now also is the high school athletic director – and owner of more than 400 varsity coaching wins after reaching that milestone during the Montrose Invitational on Dec. 29 – Grand Rapids Press