Today in the MHSAA: 5/19/16

May 19, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

As tennis and track & field teams prepare to begin the postseason, there’s plenty of news to report from all over the state and a few features worth a little more of your time today as well.

Baseball

Howell claimed its first Kensington Lakes Activities Association overall title with a comeback win over Northville – Livingston Daily

Golf

Midland’s Top Kamnark shot a school-record 66 to lead his team to a second straight Saginaw Valley League overall championship – Midland Daily News

Softball

Canton rallied in the seventh inning to down Milford 5-4 and win the overall KLAA championship – Oakland Press

DeWitt handed Grand Ledge the Comets’ first loss this season to advance to the Lansing Softball Classic championship game with a 12-9 win – Lansing State Journal

New Haven won its first Macomb Area Conference championship since joining the league in 2005 with a 15-6 win over Clinton Township Clintondale – Macomb Daily

From Tuesday, Escanaba launched five homers over two games to sweep Gladstone by a combined 16-0 score – Escanaba Daily Press

Girls Tennis

Niles Brandywine won its fourth straight league title and ninth in 12 seasons by claiming the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference title – Niles Daily Star

Good Reads

The Adrian Daily Telegram did a quick Q & A with Blissfield baseball coach Larry Tuttle, one of two in MHSAA history with more than 1,200 wins – Adrian Daily Telegram

Saginaw Nouvel’s Mitch Morley is the son of former Nouvel star and Kansas City Royals minor leaguer Mike Morley, and also is talented on the diamond as well as the football field and basketball court – Saginaw News

Detroit Cass Tech’s Savalas Morgan has improved significantly to become an MHSAA contender in track, but that’s just one of his talents – 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