Today in the MHSAA: 3/5/18
March 5, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.
Today's Top 10
1. Wrestling: A total of 56 individual wrestling champions were crowned Saturday at Ford Field, led by four-time winners Brandon Whitman of Dundee and Jarrett Trombley of Lake Fenton – Second Half
2. Cheer: Sterling Heights Stevenson and Hudson won their first Finals championships, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep won its fifth straight and Gibraltar Carlson finished first again after coming in runner-up a year ago – Second Half
3. Bowling: Oxford’s girls and Bronson and Waterford Kettering’s boys were first-time team champions over the weekend, while Saturday’s singles saw eight first-time title winners – Second Half
4. Girls Basketball: Coldwater downed Battle Creek Harper Creek 37-29 in Class A to claim its first District title since 1995 – Battle Creek Enquirer
5. Hockey: The top three teams in Division 3 to start the playoffs were from “Copper Country” and top-ranked Hancock remains after a 4-0 Regional Final win over No. 2 Calumet – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
6. Hockey: No. 3 Brighton claimed a Division 1 Regional title with a 3-1 win over No. 2 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
7. Girls Basketball: Kingsley continued its perfect run with a Class B District title win over Kalkaska, which eliminated the Stags a year ago – Traverse City Record-Eagle
8. Hockey: Midland won its first hockey Regional title since 2000 with a 9-2 win over the Tri-Valley co-op in Division 2 – Midland Daily News
9. Hockey: Holland West Ottawa upset No. 4 Grandville 2-1 in Division 1 to win its first hockey Regional title – Holland Sentinel
10. Gymnastics – Brighton and Howell tied for second at their Regional at Grand Ledge behind champion Linden to give Livingston County two teams at this Friday’s championship meet – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
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