Today In The MHSAA: 3/17/21

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

March 17, 2021

Major matchups of league leaders Tuesday were capped off by conference title celebrations as the final week of the basketball regular season, along with the first week of the hockey postseason, rolled on.

1. Girls Basketball: Standish-Sterling clinched the Tri-Valley Conference 10 title by handing Saginaw Nouvel its first loss, 40-37 – Bay City Times

2. Girls Basketball: Kent City clinched its eighth straight league title, downing Morley Stanwood 68-36 in the Central State Activities Association Silver – WOOD TV

3. Boys Basketball: Battle Creek Pennfield clinched its first league title since 2003, downing Coldwater 44-41 in a matchup of leaders in the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference – Battle Creek Enquirer

4. Girls Basketball: Muskegon Western Michigan Christian’s 49-34 win over Ludington created a shared championship for those two in the Lakes 8 Conference – Local Sports Journal

5. Girls Basketball: Midland Dow clinched the Saginaw Valley League championship with a 61-34 win over Grand Blanc – WJRT

6. Boys Basketball: Rockford claimed the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red title outright with a 55-48 win over Holland West Ottawa – Grand Rapids Press

7. Girls Basketball: Byron Center Zion Christian clinched the Alliance League title outright with a 52-21 win over Kentwood Grand River Prep – FOX 17

8. Boys Basketball: Monroe Jefferson’s Jason Alston became the second player in school history to go over 1,000 career points during an 85-75 win over Ann Arbor Central Academy – Monroe News

9. Hockey: No. 7 Traverse Bay Reps advanced in Division 1 Regional hockey with a 3-1 win over Grand Haven – MI Sports Now

10. Boys Basketball: Okemos came back from 14 down after three quarters to defeat DeWitt 60-57 in overtime of a Capital Area Activities Conference Blue semifinal – WLNS

Also of note …

Girls Basketball: From Monday, Jenna Dove became the first Vestaburg player to go over 1,000 career points, scoring 19 against Carson City Crystal – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Did You See That? (May 6-12)

May 13, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

It matters not which school you support: All of us cheer on those who emerge from sad or challenging circumstances to return to the field of play. Those are stories with which we all identify, no matter where they take place or the athletes involved.

Grass Lake's Julia Covill and the Grayling golf team are among those we cheered on last week. Read on for why.

Good Read of the Week

One more race: A little more than a year ago, Julia Covill suffered a broken pelvis, shattered femur and a smattering of other injuries after losing control of her vehicle on a patch of black ice. The volleyball and track and field standout hadn’t participated in sports since – but returned to the track for one more race Tuesday to earn a final victory, even in crossing the finishing line of the 200-meter dash last. (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)

Boys Golf

Grayling returns to the course: Long drives and birdie putts were less significant details as Grayling returned to competition Wednesday for the first time since a car crash that rocked the northern Lower Peninsula, resulting in three deaths and five more hospitalizations. (Petoskey  News)

TC West record falls: Cam Murray shot a 67 on Tuesday as Traverse City West won its Big North Conference event with a team score of 306. (Traverse City Record-Eagle)

Track and Field

Back on track: The Lake Linden-Hubbell boys and girls swept their home invitationals Friday in what was for many one of the first times those athletes had competed on a track this season thanks to lingering snow. (Houghton Daily Mining Gazette)

Down to the finish: The Battle Creek Lakeview boys and girls teams swept their Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference championship meets Friday, with the Lakeview boys clinching in dramatic fashion by securing a one-point win with a 1.23-second victory in the final event of the day. (Kalamazoo Gazette)

Boys Lacrosse

Haslett/Williamston takes big step: The Vikings earned their first Capital Area Activities Conference tournament championship with a 13-3 win over Holt, the three-time reigning champ that had beaten Haslett/Williamston 14-3 on April 27. The win pushed H/W into the No. 10 spot in today’s Division 2 state computer ranking. (Lansing State Journal)

Novi hangs on: Novi survived to win the Kensington Lakes Activities Association tournament championship game 7-6 after a last-second Brighton shot crossed the line just after time expired. (MLive Detroit)

Girls Tennis

FHN No. 1 again: Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern continued to own its league Saturday, although this time in a new division. The Huskies won the first-ever O-K Bronze tournament championship by four points over Ada Forest Hills Eastern. FHN has won nine straight league titles. (Grand Rapids Press)

Wrestling

Meet Mr. Wrestler: Fowlerville’s Adam Coon added to his impressive list of accomplishments – including becoming the 17th MHSAA wrestler to win four Finals championships – when he was named Mr. Wrestler by the Michigan Wrestling Association. (Livingston County Daily Press & Argus)

Upper Peninsula Hall of Fame

High school stars inducted: High school standouts brought back plenty of memories as this year’s class was inducted Sunday into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame. (Marquette Mining Journal)

Boys Basketball

Root resigns after 30+ seasons: Longtime Flint Ainsworth and then Carman-Ainsworth basketball coach Bob Root resigned last week, potentially finishing a career that began at Flint Northern in 1978. (Flint Journal)