Today in the MHSAA: 5/21/19

May 21, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Monday saw one of the spring’s busiest afternoons so far for league champions as at least 19 teams clinched shares or outright titles in a variety of sports.

1. Girls Soccer: Division 2 No. 14 Pinckney locked up the Southeastern Conference White championship, its first league title in this sport, with a 2-1 win over No. 10 Dexter – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

2. Girls Soccer: Division 4 top-ranked North Muskegon clinched its fourth straight West Michigan Conference title, with its seniors finishing 40-0 in league play over their careers, thanks to a 9-4 win over Division 3 No. 13 Whitehall – Local Sports Journal

3. Softball: Division 1 No. 6 Warren Regina edged Division 3 No. 3 Allen Park Cabrini 3-2 to win the Detroit Catholic League A-B championship game – C&G Newspapers

4. Girls Soccer: Division 1 top-ranked Novi moved to 20-0-1 with a 2-0 win over No. 14 Livonia Stevenson that clinched the overall Kensington Lakes Activities Association title – Observer & Eccentric

5. Track & Field: Gladstone’s boys won their first Mid-Peninsula Conference meet championship, while Negaunee’s girls locked up their 10th straight – Marquette Mining Journal

6. Softball: Division 1 honorable mention Allen Park clinched a share of its ninth straight Downriver League title with a sweep of Gibraltar Carlson – Southgate News-Herald

7. Girls Soccer: Kingsley claimed its first Northwest Conference championship in this sport with a 1-0 win over Buckley – Traverse City Record-Eagle

8. Baseball: Division 2 No. 2 East Grand Rapids clinched a share and then the outright O-K Gold title with a doubleheader sweep of Ada Forest Hills Eastern – FOX 17

9. Girls Soccer: Division 3 No. 4 Otsego finished a repeat title run in the Wolverine Conference with a 1-0 victory over Plainwell – WWMT

10. Baseball: Morley Stanwood picked up a share of a third straight Central State Activities Association Silver title with a 9-7 win over Kent City – Big Rapids News

Also of note …

Girls Soccer: Division 3 No. 9 Grosse Ile locked up a share of the Huron League title with a 2-1 win over Riverview – Southgate News-Herald

Softball: Macomb Lutheran North edged Madison Heights Bishop Foley 8-6 to clinch the Catholic League C-D title – State Champs Sports Network

Softball: Division 1 No. 3 Bay City Western locked up a second straight Saginaw Valley League North title with a sweep of Midland Dow – Bay City Times

Girls Soccer: A draw against Jenison gave Muskegon Mona Shores its third straight O-K Black title – Local Sports Journal

Boys Golf: Byron Center, No. 9 in Lower Peninsula Division 3, claimed the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green championship with a win at the league tournament – Holland Sentinel

Baseball/Softball: The Camden-Frontier baseball team and North Adams-Jerome softball team clinched championships in the Southern Central Athletic Association East – Hillsdale Daily News

Softball: Division 4 No. 8 Holton claimed its fifth straight league title and Muskegon Orchard View its third consecutive – Local Sports Journal

Boys Basketball: Longtime former coach Paul Polfus will bring nearly 700 combined girls and boys varsity victories when he re-takes over the latter program at Carney-Nadeau – Escanaba Daily Press

Today in the MHSAA: 1/20/16

January 20, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Buzzer beaters and milestone basketball victories made headlines all over Michigan today, and check out as well a moving video that tells of the importance of our national anthem.

Girls Basketball

Reigning Class C champion Calumet added another accomplishment to the long list with its first win over Houghton since 1999, 44-31 – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Three Rivers’ sophomore Arionne Fowlkes went baseline to baseline for a last-second layup to give her team a 43-41 win over Niles – Niles Daily Star

Class A favorite Saginaw Heritage remained undefeated with a 53-38 win over rival Midland Dow, also ranked in Class A – Saginaw News

One-loss St. Ignace handed Newberry its first defeat of the season, 64-57 – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Cedar Springs also knocked a team from the unbeaten ranks, with Sam Taylor’s 3-pointer in the closing seconds ending Kent City’s perfect run, 50-47 – Grand Rapids Press

Muskegon edged East Kentwood 50-47 after trailing by 10 and on the strength of 26 points and 22 rebounds by senior Mardrekia Cook – Muskegon Chronicle

Boys Basketball

Despite being outscored 30-22 in the fourth quarter, Southfield Christian held on for an 82-79 win over Southfield – MLive-Detroit

Merrill earned its first win since 2013 by downing Coleman 49-36 – Midland Daily News

One-loss Alma handed previously-undefeated Ithaca its first, 56-53, as Dylan Carl hit 3-pointers to send the game to overtime and then win it – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Muskegon Oakridge’s Brady Luttrull drilled a 3-pointer during the final seconds to push his team past Scottville Mason County Central 67-66 – Muskegon Chronicle

Cassopolis followed a strong third quarter by Deoin Gatson to hand Niles Brandywine its first loss, 61-47 – Niles Daily Leader

One-loss Clarkston also handed out a first loss Tuesday, to Rochester Adams, in a matchup of top Class A teams – Oakland Press

Caleb Brown’s only basket for Northport was the game winner during the final seconds of a 51-49 victory over Central Lake – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Nate Dugener’s sixth 3-pointer of the game gave Muskegon Western Michigan Christian a 52-49 win over Holland Christian – Grand Haven Tribune

Boys Swimming & Diving

In a matchup of top teams on the west side of the Lower Peninsula, Division 1 No. 6 Zeeland got past Division 2 honorable mention Holland 104-73 – Holland Sentinel

Worth Watching

We ran across and were moved by Virginia Tech’s honoring of veterans at the start of this men’s basketball season. Check out this meaningful presentation and how it relates to providing proper respect during The Star-Spangled Banner.