Today in the MHSAA: 3/3/17

March 3, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

As the boys basketball regular season came to a close Thursday, the Individual Wrestling Finals got started and Hockey Regionals continued on – all with celebrations of note.

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. 

Boys Basketball

Central State Activities Association division champs Morley Stanwood and Big Rapids faced off, with Morley Stanwood closing the regular season with a 59-56 win – Big Rapids News

Breckenridge clinched its first league title since 1988 with a big win over Coleman in the Mid-State Activities Conference – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Wayne Memorial rode a strong fourth quarter to a 47-44 win over Walled Lake Central in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship game – Oakland Press

Quincy downed Homer 61-41 to claim a share of the Big 8 Conference title – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Dollar Bay downed Painesdale Jeffers 54-46 in the Copper Mountain Conference to earn a first league title since 1994 – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Calumet earned a share of the West Peninsula Athletic Conference title with a 66-54 win over Hancock – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Grand Rapids Christian finished its first perfect regular season with a 53-51 win over Kalamazoo Central – Grand Rapids Press

Michigan Center also completed its first perfect regular season with an 81-49 win over Vandercook Lake – Jackson Citizen Patriot

Hockey

Division 1 No. 8 Utica Eisenhower powered to a 7-4 win over No. 6 Rochester United in a Pre-Regional Final – Macomb Daily

Division 2 No. 6 Trenton came back from trailing 3-0, but No. 5 Livonia Churchill still prevailed 4-3 in overtime – Southgate News Herald

Unranked Alpena upset No. 7 Sault Ste. Marie in Division 3 – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Wrestling

Gaylord advanced all five of its MHSAA Individual Finals competitors to the second round in Division 2 on Thursday, with wrestling continuing today – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Hartland senior Reece Hughes, a reigning Division 1 champion, returned to the mat after a shoulder injury kept him out of last week’s Team Finals and won his first match – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Good Read

Amazingly, Dave Mann is coaching three varsity girls basketball teams this season – at Harper Woods Chandler Park, which schedules separately for two teams, and also at Detroit Cornerstone – Detroit 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