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
Linked Up: 11/15/11
December 16, 2011
We're heading into the final two weeks of the MHSAA fall season, which means playoffs for a few more sports, first practices for many others, and some catch-up on good stories that have made their way into my e-mail or onto my desk. Here are five more I've run across this week.
And again, if you see something high school sports-related that you think others would find valuable, send me a link at [email protected].
Walled Lake Central's Zac Leimbach stands strong after father's death (Detroit Free Press)
Walled Lake Central quarterback Zac Leimbach led his team to the playoffs this fall (WLC lost last weekend). He also is the oldest of three sons and now the man of his house in the wake of the summer death of their father after a battle with cancer. Mick McCabe's passage about Leimbach's final conversation with his father really struck me -- incredible.
Being in the pool makes Zeeland swimmer Becky Taylor feel like equal (Holland Sentinel)
Taylor was born with spina bifida -- "a hole in her back" -- and paralysis from the hips down. But she can leave her wheelchair behind when she takes to the pool as a member of the Zeeland swim team. Dan D'Addona tells us this inspiring story that has made waves on the west side of the state this season.
Mercy's Maddy Doyle takes home Miss Volleyball award (Oakland Press)
Doyle was the spokesperson for her team to the media after tough losses ended their last two seasons. But she was able to stand in once more -- joyfully tearful this time -- in accepting the Miss Volleyball award for 2011. Matthew B. Mowery wraps up her great career.
East Grand Rapids' win over Holland was the Pioneers' 28th straight in postseason play. That's a story unto itself, of course. But another big one for West Michigan high school sports fans was the return of the Press' Jane Bos, who is back in the press box after nearly a year working through medical issues. This is her return column, and I'm sure a loyal reader base is thankful to have her back.
From a standout player, a different sort of care basket (Los Angeles Times)
This is a little old, but came back into the light this week with the start of college basketball season. It's a college story, but also a high school story, of a star hoops player who won $40,000 in scholarship money in a free-throw shooting contest -- and then gave it to the seven runners-up. You'll probably hear about Cal State-Northridge's Allan Guei at some point over the next few years. Here's why.