Today in the MHSAA: 4/14/16

April 14, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A set of milestone coaching wins and the passing of a legendary basketball coach received the biggest headlines Thursday.

Baseball

Hudsonville coach Dave VanNoord added his 500th career win with his team’s 6-1 victory over Zeeland East – Grand Rapids Press

Pinch-hitter Connor Margosian drove in two runs to give Richmond an 8-7 walk-off win over Marysville – Port Huron Times Herald

From Tuesday, St. Louis won the 300th game of coach Rollie Carman’s career, 9-1 over Harrison – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Girls Lacrosse

Spring Lake opened a 7-3 lead, Grand Haven caught up at 10-10 to force overtime, and Spring Lake then prevailed with one more goal – Grand Haven Tribune

Girls Soccer

Frankenmuth scored with six seconds to play to edge Midland Bullock Creek 2-1 – Midland Daily News

Softball

Jenison gave coach Kari Kossen the 399th and 400th wins of her 17-season career leading the program with a sweep of Grand Rapids Northview – Grand Rapids Press

Dowagiac swept Decatur 10-0 and 10-8 with pitcher Taylor Hulett tossing a no-hitter in the opener – Niles Daily Star

Good Read

The Lansing and statewide basketball communities are mourning one of the winningest coaches in Michigan high school history, Paul Cook, who died Tuesday evening and coached the first two Mr. Basketball winners and also won an MHSAA title with the Lansing Catholic girls – Lansing State Journal

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