Today in the MHSAA: 3/9/17

March 9, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

High winds and power outages couldn’t down Wednesday’s eight MHSAA Hockey Quarterfinals and a number of boys basketball District games all over the state.

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

Detroit Public School League champion Cass Tech got past rival Detroit East English 72-67 in a Class A District Semifinal – MLive-Detroit

Freeland edged Sanford Meridian Early College 46-42 in a Class B matchup of teams that entered the night a combined 36-3 – Saginaw News

Newberry clinched its first District title since 1998, downing St. Ignace 67-55 in Class C – Marquette Mining Journal

Rapid River won its first District title also in more than a decade by downing Rock Mid Peninsula 60-50 in Class D – Escanaba Daily Press

Walled Lake Western and Walled Lake Northern met for the fourth time, with this last matchup going to Western 49-45 in Class A – Oakland Press

Onsted, which had fallen twice to Hillsdale this season, handed the Hornets their first and only loss in a Class B District Semifinal – Hillsdale Daily News

St. Joseph similarly had fallen twice to Portage Central, but came back to win their third matchup 50-47 in Class A – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Hockey

No. 3 Brighton returned to the Division 1 Semifinals with a 7-0 win over Lowell – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Division 1 No. 4 Northville continued its run toward a possible first championship game berth with a 6-2 win over Macomb Dakota – Macomb Daily

Top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central booked a return to the Semifinals with a 6-2 win over Bay City Central/Western in Division 1 – Observer & Eccentric

Grandville also is becoming a regular in the Semifinals and will return after an 8-4 Division 1 win over Rockford – Grand Rapids Press

In a matchup of the top two ranked teams in Division 3, No. 1 Flint Powers Catholic came away with a 3-2 overtime win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central – Flint Journal

Calumet will play in the Division 3 Semifinals for the first time in six seasons after a 7-3 win over Big Rapids – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Warren DeLaSalle got past Detroit Country Day 4-0 in Division 3 – Macomb Daily

Dearborn Divine Child continued its surprise Division 3 run with a 4-3 win over Chelsea – Dearborn Press & Guide

Volleyball

Buchanan coach Lisa Holok resigned after 13 seasons and more than 500 victories, plus a trip this past fall to the Class B Semifinals – South Bend Tribune

Good Read

Only a few weeks before Mark Blentlinger was to take over the Schoolcraft bowling program in 2010, his daughter Kyleigh – who helped start the girls team – died suddenly. He thought of her much during the girls team’s run to the Division 4 Semifinals on Friday – Kalamazoo Gazette

Today in the MHSAA: 3/6/17

March 6, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

MHSAA Finals in wrestling, bowling and cheer, Regionals in gymnastics and hockey and Districts in girls basketball made for a busy weekend across our state – and also one full of celebration for a number of schools finishing the season or taking the next tournament step.

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. 

Girls Basketball

Undefeated Ypsilanti Arbor Prep, last season’s Class C champ, edged Dearborn Heights Robichaud 58-54 in a Class B District Final – Ann Arbor News

Lake City won its first District since 2001, downing Manton 54-53 in overtime of a Class C Final – Cadillac News

Niles Brandywine won its eighth District title in nine seasons with a 40-18 victory over Watervliet in Class C – Niles Daily Star

Charlevoix completed a Class C District run with a 46-36 win over Harbor Springs after going 3-19 a season ago – Petoskey News-Review

Bowling

Eight teams and eight individuals claimed MHSAA titles over the weekend, with Battle Creek Pennfield enjoying the most success with a boys team championship and sweep of singles in Division 3 – Second Half

Cheer

Allen Park broke Gibraltar Carlson's win streak in Division 2 while Rochester, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep and Breckenridge all repeated as Finals champions – Second Half

Gymnastics

Northville will compete at the MHSAA Team Final for the first time since 2010 after finishing second to Canton at their Regional – Observer & Eccentric

Hockey

Freshman Will Jentz scored in overtime to carry Brighton past Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 2-1 in a Division 1 Regional Final – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Big Rapids upended Alpena 2-1 in overtime Saturday to claim a Division 3 Regional title – Big Rapids News

Wrestling

Walled Lake Central's Ben Freeman became the 22nd four-time champion in MHSAA history as the Individual Finals awarded 56 winners total (and we interviewed them all) – Second Half