Today in the MHSAA: 5/23/17

May 23, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The last week of the regular season for most in baseball, golf, soccer and softball got rolling with a bevy of championship matchups, both for high-powered leagues and across regions – with Gaylord’s boys golf team continuing an especially impressive tournament run.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Baseball

Byron Center won the second game of a split with No. 2-ranked Holland Christian, 3-2, to win the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green title ahead of the reigning Division 2 champion – Holland Sentinel

Detroit Western International came back from a 3-0 deficit to win its 10th straight Detroit Public School League championship with a 5-4 victory over Detroit Martin Luther King – Detroit News

Mount Pleasant held on to first place in the Saginaw Valley League, but now only shares the lead with Midland after splitting with Division 1 No. 19 Saginaw Heritage – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

St. Johns opened the 56th Capital Diamond Classic with a 5-4 eight-inning win over Division 4 No. 6 Fowler – Lansing State Journal

Girls Golf

Upper Peninsula Division 1 Houghton continued its latest surge with another invitational title Monday, this time at L’Anse Golf Club with Kaaren Liston shooting a 43 to finish first individually – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Boys Golf

Charlevoix locked up the Lake Michigan Conference championship shooting a 322 at Grayling Country Club – Petoskey News-Review

LP Division 2 No. 3 Gaylord upped its winning streak to eight straight tournaments with a victory at the Traverse City Central Invitational – Gaylord Herald Times

Girls Soccer

Division 3 No. 10 Birch Run shut out No. 9 Frankenmuth 1-0 to regain a share of first place in the Tri-Valley Conference East – Saginaw News

Plainwell got past Division 3 No. 11 Otsego 3-0 to claim a share of the Wolverine Conference title – Kalamazoo Gazette

No. 17 New Baltimore Anchor Bay upset No. 2 Utica Eisenhower in a meeting of top teams in the Macomb Area Conference Red and statewide Division 1 – Macomb Daily

Division 1 No. 7 Rochester Adams downed Rochester 2-0 to claim the Oakland Activities Association Red title – Oakland Press

From Saturday, Division 4 No. 7 Madison Heights Bishop Foley got past No. 20 Royal Oak Shrine 1-0 in the Catholic League Division II-III title game – Oakland Press

Softball

Division 3 No. 4 Napoleon broke up a close game in the fifth inning in downing Parma Western 5-0 to win the Al Glick Tournament at Spring Arbor – Jackson Citizen Patriot

Division 2 honorable mention Eaton Rapids followed the shutout pitching of freshman Grace Lehto to the Mid-Michigan area’s Softball Classic championship with a 4-0 win over Grand Ledge – Lansing State Journal

Houghton and Lake Linden-Hubbell combined for 60 runs over a doubleheader, the Lakes winning the first game 20-15 and the Gremlins the second 14-11 – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Warren Regina won a matchup of recent state powers, downing Farmington Hills Mercy 14-6 to claim the Detroit Catholic League A-B championship – Macomb Daily

Division 4 honorable mention Waterford Our Lady downed Wixom St. Catherine 5-0 in the Catholic League C-D final thanks to a no-hitter by Hannah Davies – Oakland Press

Division 2 No. 6 Stevensville Lakeshore swept Niles to claim the outright Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West title – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Track & Field

From the weekend, the LP Division 1 top-ranked Rockford girls clinched their 20th straight Regional title finishing ahead of Okemos and Grand Ledge in Division 1 – Grand Rapids Press

Good Read

Born without a left hand, Stockbridge freshman pitcher Carson Robinson has always shown plenty of determination and had his share of success. This spring, he has dominated on the mound – after also playing football and basketball this school year – Lansing State Journal

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.