Today in the MHSAA: 4/22/19

April 22, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

From track to softball to soccer, big wins and big upsets dominated this weekend as we go back to Thursday night for today’s list of high achievers.

1. Track & Field: Zeeland East’s girls and boys teams are looking like contenders again after sweeping the Grand Rapids Elite Challenge titles – Holland Sentinel

2. Softball: Traverse City West split with Division 2 No. 5 Muskegon Oakridge, earning its win on a walk-off homer – Muskegon Chronicle

3. Softball: Division 4 honorable mention Three Oaks River Valley downed No. 6 Onaway 10-9 in 10 innings to clinch the Holton Invitational title – Alpena News

4. Girls Soccer: No. 11 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek should be moving up in Division 1 after a 2-0 win over No. 4 Troy – Oakland Press

5. Girls Soccer: Top-ranked Novi downed No. 6 Hartland 4-0 in a league matchup of top Division 1 teams statewide – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

6. Girls Tennis: Lower Peninsula Division 2 No. 9 Traverse City Central and No. 7 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central tied for the Twin Bay Quad title – Traverse City Record-Eagle

7. Boys Golf: LPD1 No. 8 Clarkston shot a 287 to win the Green/Black/Gold/Orange tournament 19 strokes ahead of runner-up and No. 5 Birmingham Brother Rice – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

8. Track & Field: Deckerville’s girls and boys swept their home invitational titles – Huron Daily Tribune

9. Track & Field: Midland’s girls edged Traverse City West and Traverse City Central’s boys edged Alpena to win Graves/Swayze Relays titles at Midland Community Stadium – Midland Daily News

10. Softball: Quincy downed Gobles and Niles Brandywine to win Brandywine’s invitational – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: The Detroit Mumford community is mourning the death of former coach and athletic director Sam “Sonny” Taub – Detroit 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