Today in the MHSAA: 3/14/16
March 14, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The MHSAA Gymnastics, Hockey and Boys Swimming and Diving seasons closed this weekend with seven team and multiple individual champions honored, and the boys basketball postseason finished its first week with a number of communities celebrating for the first time in a long time.
Boys Basketball
Battle Creek Central claimed its first District title since 2008, downing Kalamazoo Loy Norrix in a Class A Final – Battle Creek Enquirer
Lowell claimed its first District title since 1984 with a Class A win – Grand Rapids Press
Dylan Carl went over 1,000 points for his career as Alma downed Ovid-Elsie in a Class B Final – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Kingsford upset Great Northern Conference champion Menominee to claim a Class B title – Iron Mountain Daily News
In Class C, Hanover-Horton won its 15th straight District championship – Jackson Citizen-Patriot
Ishpeming Westwood pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the week, downing rival Ishpeming in a Class C Final – Marquette Mining Journal
Niles Brandywine earned its first District title since 2001 with a Class C win – Niles Daily Star
Rock Mid-Peninsula claimed its first District title in two decades with a Class D victory – Escanaba Daily Press
Pickford also picked up a first District title in decades, beating Brimley to win for the first time since 1992 – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News
Gymnastics
Despite losing senior standout Madi Myers to an injury midway through the meet, Rockford/Sparta repeated as MHSAA champion after finishing with a strong rotation on beam – Second Half
Grand Ledge’s Rachel Hogan followed three top-10 finishes to end her high school career as the Division 1 individual champion Saturday – Second Half
Ice Hockey
Detroit Catholic Central extended its Division 1 title streak to three under a third coach – Second Half
Romeo added a hockey championship to its fall football title, winning Division 2 for the first time – Second Half
Hancock won its first MHSAA title since 1999 finishing an impressive run with a Division 3 clincher over Grand Rapids Catholic Central – Second Half
Boys Swimming & Diving
Birmingham Brother Rice claimed its third straight Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship, outracing the field by 77 points – Second Half
Dexter built an early lead and won LP Division 2 for the second time in five seasons – Second Half
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood also won a third straight title, claiming LP Division 3 ahead of East Grand Rapids – Second Half
Today in the MHSAA: 12/19/16
December 19, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Sports will slow down over the next two weeks as schools go on break and we roll in 2017. But in advance, take a look at a ton of coverage from the busiest weekend of this winter season so far.
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
Galesburg-Augusta improved to 5-0 with a 33-29 win over previously-undefeated Schoolcraft – Kalamazoo Gazette
Cedarville earned what could become a key win in the Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference, 43-40 over Pickford – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News
Boys Basketball
Levi Lehman had a monstrous 25 points and 31 rebounds in Ithaca’s 73-49 win over St. Louis – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Sturgis remained undefeated with a league-opening 44-41 win over Dowagiac – Sturgis Journal
Luke Morrell’s basket at the buzzer gave Plainwell a 60-58 win over Paw Paw – Kalamazoo Gazette
Beaverton remained undefeated with a 43-37 comeback win over Sanford Meridian thanks to 31 points from Carter Johnston – Saginaw News
Saginaw Heritage downed neighbor Saginaw Arthur Hill for the first time since 2000, 46-38 – Saginaw News
Ann Arbor Skyline sent a powerful statement with a 95-92 triple-overtime win over Ann Arbor Huron, last season’s co-champion in the Southeastern Conference Red – Ann Arbor News
East Lansing started on avenging last season’s only loss, to Lansing Everett, with a 59-53 victory – Lansing State Journal
Competitive Cheer
Adrian Madison won the Onsted Invitational with a score of 691.52, only four points shy of its Regional score from a year ago – Adrian Daily Telegram
Hockey
Jake Crespi scored with 15:12 to play to give Division 1 top-ranked Brighton a 1-0 win over Division 2 No. 4 Livonia Stevenson – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Alpena won the Blue Line Tournament with a 2-1 win over East Kentwood – Alpena News
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard scored four goals in the third period to down Division 2 No. 10 Saline 8-6 in a matchup of Washtenaw County powers – Saline Post
Wrestling
DeWitt, No. 2 in Division 2, won the Brighton Invitational just ahead of the Division 1 No. 8 Bulldogs – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Addison downed a group including a number of larger schools to win the Ypsilanti Lincoln Invitational – Adrian Daily Telegram
Division 3 No. 4 Remus Chippewa Hills earned championships at seven weights in winning its invitational – Big Rapids News
Macomb Dakota, No. 4 in Division 1, won the Macomb County Classic ahead of Warren Woods-Tower – Macomb Daily
Oxford, No. 6 in Division 1, was Oakland County champion, ending Detroit Catholic Central’s seven-year hold on the trophy (although the Shamrocks’ top-ranked A team was at an event in Ohio) – Oakland Press
Petoskey went 5-0 against Upper Peninsula teams to win the annual Bridge Brawl at Rudyard – Petoskey News-Review
Sand Creek won its invitational, taking three of four matches by double figures – Adrian Daily Telegram
Gaylord, No. 7 in Division 2, won the Marquette Challenge with three individual champions to remain undefeated – Gaylord Herald Times
Coloma won the South Haven Invitational with a seven-point victory over Niles’ B team – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Good Read
From Brooklyn, N.Y., to East Lansing, from helping build the World Trade Center after dropping out of high school to becoming the Trojans’ boys basketball coach, Steve Finamore’s story is truly fascinating – Lansing State Journal