Today in the MHSAA: 3/9/20

March 9, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The busiest weekend of the winter postseason saw MHSAA Finals in wrestling, bowling and competitive cheer – final coverage of all three all over Second Half – plus Hockey Quarterfinals, Gymnastics Regionals and Girls Basketball District Finals, coverage of some we’ve gathered below.

1. Hockey: No. 3 Trenton won a Division 2 Quarterfinal matchup of annual contenders, 5-1 over top-ranked Livonia Stevenson – Southgate News-Herald

2. Girls Basketball: Bad Axe downed Cass City 47-31 in Division 3 to claim its first District championship in four decades – Huron Daily Tribune

3. Girls Basketball: Manton locked down rival Lake City 26-17 to win a Division 3 District title; Lake City made the Division 3 Semifinals in 2019 – MI Sports Now

4. Hockey: No. 9 Midland Dow got past No. 10 Grand Rapids Catholic Central 3-2 in triple overtime in Division 3, while No. 2 Saginaw Heritage defeated Kalamazoo 2-1 also in 3 OT in Division 1 – WJRT

5. Girls Basketball: East Grand Rapids came back late to get past East Kentwood 56-53 in a Division 1 District Final – WOOD TV

6. Hockey: No. 5 Marquette advanced to the Division 2 Semifinals with a 5-2 win over No. 6 Traverse City Central – Marquette Mining Journal

7. Gymnastics: Morgan Case led Rockford/Sparta to a Regional championship – Escanaba Daily Press

8. Girls Basketball: Saline got past Ann Arbor Huron 50-44 in Division 1 after Huron finished just head of Saline in their league – State Champs Sports Network

9. Girls Basketball: Three Rivers avenged back-to-back District Final losses with a 48-37 win over Edwardsburg – JoeInsider.com

10. Girls Basketball: Sault Ste. Marie earned a few seasons’ worth of vengeance as well with a 58-43 Division 2 District Final win over Kingsley – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Today in the MHSAA: 2/20/20

February 20, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Special for Second Half

Four teams celebrated their first MHSAA Team Wrestling Regional championships Wednesday as the field of 32 was determined across the state. We were able to gather coverage of two of those title celebrations, plus a number of other championship runs on the mat, ice and bowling lanes.

1. Wrestling: No. 7 Muskegon Reeths-Puffer won its first Team Regional title in this sport, downing Greenville and Allendale in Division 2 – Local Sports Journal

2. Wrestling: Division 3 No. 7 Fremont also won its first Regional title on the mat, with wins over Muskegon Orchard View and Comstock Park – Muskegon Chronicle

3. Wrestling: After falling to No. 9 Westland John Glenn in the postseason three straight seasons, No. 5 Temperance Bedford won the latest meeting to claim a Division 1 Regional title – Monroe News

4. Wrestling: No. 2 Gaylord edged No. 3 DeWitt 33-30 to lock up a Division 2 Regional championship – Gaylord Herald-Times

5. Wrestling: Mason upset No. 4 Eaton Rapids 33-27 on the way to claiming a Division 2 Regional title – Lansing State Journal

6. Wrestling: No. 3 Brighton got past No. 6 Holt 55-8 to clinch a Division 1 Regional title – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

7. Wrestling: No. 5 Hart downed Whittemore-Prescott to clinch a Division 4 Regional title, its first Regional championship since 1990 – Muskegon Chronicle

8. Hockey: Division 1 No. 2 Saginaw Heritage downed Division 3 No. 9 Midland Dow 2-0 to lock up the Saginaw Valley League championship – Midland Daily News

9. Wrestling: A last-second pin gave No. 10 New Boston Huron a 38-37 win over Gibraltar Carlson and a Division 2 Regional championship, its first Regional title since 2003 – Monroe News

10. Bowling: The Ravenna girls and Fruitport boys won Greater Muskegon Athletic Association championships – Local Sports Journal

NOTE: Croswell-Lexington and Kingsley also won their first Wrestling Team Regional championships Wednesday.

Also of note …

Football: Flint Beecher coach and athletic director Courtney Hawkins will be leaving the Bucs to join the Michigan State football staff – WJRT