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
Stripes Worn Well (Muskegon Chronicle)
March 1, 2012
Tim Flahive has battled diabetes for all but a few years of his life. But he's also filled half of those years with high school sports as a longtime official based in the Muskegon area.
The Muskegon Chronicle's Mark Opfermann tells the story of Flahive's final basketball game last week -- and makes us appreciate even more the significant role our officials fill to no fanfare.
A powerful excerpt:
He left the court with no fanfare, took off his whistle and shed a few tears.
But Flahive's story isn’t just about sports and an official leaving the hobby he loves. It’s about courage, getting back up and pressing on.
So, I guess it’s a lot like sports after all. But it’s a whole lot more about life.
That’s because when Flahive took the court last week, he did it with half of his left foot missing.