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: 9/15/15

September 15, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Upsets, milestones and a marathon tennis match highlight today’s gathering of notable headlines from across the state.

Girls Golf

Jackson Lumen Christi shot a 377 to win its home invitational at the Cascades; the score was the team’s three-year low on the course – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Traverse City West won the Lady Rayder Invitational in Charlevoix by 52 strokes, and West’s Annika Dy took the individual honor by three strokes over reigning Lower Peninsula Division 4 champion Nichole Cox of Maple City Glen Lake – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Grand Rapids Christian won a matchup of top-10 teams in Lower Peninsula Division 3, edging Lake Odessa Lakewood by 12 strokes at Centennial Acres, Lakewood’s home course – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Boys Soccer

Clinton Township Chippewa Valley handed Division 1 No. 3 Fraser its first Macomb Area Conference loss since 2011, 1-0 – Macomb Daily

Whitehall downed undefeated Muskegon Mona Shores after scoring on a go-ahead penalty kick before halftime – Muskegon Chronicle

Girls Swimming and Diving

From Saturday, Lake Orion – an honorable mention in LP Division 1 – won the West Bloomfield Invitational for the second straight season, this time against a field that included LP Division 2 honorable mentions North Farmington and Farmington Hills Harrison – Oakland Press

Boys Tennis

LP Division 3 No. 3 East Grand Rapids claimed a 6-2 win over No. 5 Grand Rapids Christian, thanks in part to a win at No. 1 singles by Thomas Bailey that took three hours to secure – Grand Rapids Press

Volleyball

Cadillac needed four sets to outlast Traverse City Central and move to 18-2, setting up next week’s matchup of first-place Big North Conference teams against Traverse City West – Cadillac News

Good Read

Clare football coach Kelly Luplow has built his program into the dominant power in the Jack Pine Conference that has won 34 straight league games, and he needs one more win to reach 200 for his career – Bay City Times