Today in the MHSAA: 4/18/16

April 18, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A week after snow still covered much of the Lower Peninsula, teams on both sides of the bridge got outside to get their seasons rolling – with much of most notable weekend action coming in softball, soccer and tennis.

Girls Soccer

Cadillac shut out Holland Black River and Holland and played Grand Rapids Northview to a 0-0 tie in winning the Holland Invitational on Saturday – Cadillac News

Softball

Spring Lake won the Lakeshore Grand Slam in Stevenson by downing reigning Division 2 champion Wayland 5-4 on the way to the title – Grand Haven Tribune

Melissa Wegener clubbed a seventh-inning home run as part of a five-run rally to help Bay City Western over rival Bay City Central 7-4 in the final of the Bay County Softball Championships – Bay City Times

From Thursday, Emily Dragonetti threw a no-hitter against Charlotte that was her school’s first in at least 14 seasons – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Also from Thursday, Dowagiac’s Taylor Hulett and Megan Soderbloom threw back-to-back no-hitters against Sturgis while striking out a combined 21 batters – Niles Daily Star

Girls Tennis

Battle Creek Lakeview won six flight championships in claiming the overall Battle Creek All-City title – Battle Creek Enquirer

From Wednesday, Division 2 top-ranked Bloomfield Hills Marian and Division 3 No. 2 Detroit Country Day tied 4-4 with Country Day winning all four singles matches and Marian sweeping doubles – Oakland Press

Good Read

Eric Marcil as a student convinced the Muskegon Reeths-Puffer district to create a soccer program, and the 1992 alum came back to coach both the girls and boys teams before his death at 25 after a fight against lymphoma. The school’s field was renamed to honor him Thursday – Muskegon Chronicle

Today in the MHSAA: 1/6/20

January 6, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The clashing of statewide wrestling powers and a nearly unbelievable performance on the ice highlighted a power-packed first weekend of 2020.

1. Wrestling: Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central, No. 2 Davison, No. 3 Brighton and Division 2 top-ranked Lowell took the top four team places, respectively, at the 56th DCC Invitational – Oakland Press

2. Hockey: Division 2 No. 2 Livonia Stevenson downed Hartland 5-2, with Seth Lause scoring an incredible three short-handed goals – Observer & Eccentric

3. Boys Basketball: Flint Beecher downed Benton Harbor 76-62 in a matchup of teams expected to make runs at Finals championships in March – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

4. Hockey: Division 1 No. 5 Brighton handed the first loss of the season to the last team without one, 3-2 to Division 3 top-ranked Calumet – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

5. Hockey: Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central earned a significant league win 6-0 over No. 4 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s – Oakland Press

6. Girls Basketball: Kelsey Richards went over 30 points for the fifth straight game as Fruitport Calvary Christian earned a 50-46 statement win over Central Montcalm – Muskegon Chronicle

7. Wrestling: Division 4 top-ranked Clinton followed a pair of individual champions to the team title at the 45th Dave Elliott Memorial Tournament – Adrian Daily Telegram

8. Boys Basketball: In another matchup of championship hopefuls, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s downed Grand Blanc 69-66 – Flint Journal

9. Girls Basketball: Hart continued its surge with a 51-35 win over Calvary Christian the day after the latter’s big win noted above – Muskegon Chronicle

10. Hockey: Ann Arbor Pioneer improved to 8-2 with a 2-1 win over rival Skyline in the final of the Jilek Cup – We Love Ann Arbor

Also of note …

Football: The football community is mourning the death of Zeeland West assistant Gasper Giarmo, who coached more than 30 years combined at seven schools including a decade at Byron Center – Grand Rapids Press