Today in the MHSAA: 3/5/20

March 5, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A series of hockey Regional championships and a titanic girls basketball District clash headlined a busy Wednesday across Michigan that saw both tournaments continue to advance.

1. Hockey: No. 7 Howell ended at least five seasons of losses to No. 3 Brighton with a 4-2 win in a Division 1 Regional Final – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

2. Hockey: L’Anse Creuse Unified clinched its first Regional championship, downing Rochester in Division 1 3-0 – C&G Newspapers

3. Girls Basketball: Michigan Center finished a fourth-quarter comeback with a 42-41 win over Grass Lake – State Champs Sports Network

4. Hockey: No. 10 Grand Rapids Catholic Central upset No. 8 Forest Hills Central 5-0 to claim a Division 3 Regional title – FOX 17

5. Girls Basketball: Munising finished the regular season 6-13, but defeated Rapid River 44-31 in Division 4 to claim a third-straight District title – Marquette Mining Journal

6. Hockey: No. 6 Traverse City Central downed Muskegon Mona Shores 6-1 in Division 2 to win the sixth Regional title in program history – Traverse City Record-Eagle

7. Girls Basketball: Unbeaten Port Huron came back from a double-digit deficit to beat Macomb L’Anse Creuse North 44-41 in a Division 1 District Semifinal – Detroit News

8. Hockey: No. 9 Midland Dow locked up a Division 3 Regional title with a 2-0 win over Flint Powers Catholic – Midland Daily News

9. Hockey: Muskegon Reeths-Puffer came back to defeat Traverse City West and clinch a Division 1 Regional championship – Local Sports Journal

10. Girls Basketball: Centreville got past White Pigeon 63-57 in a Division 3 District matchup of local rivals that split during the regular season – JoeInsider.com

Also of note …

Girls Basketball: Chelsea coach Todd Blomquist announced his retirement after 20 seasons and more than 300 wins – Chelsea Sun Times 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