Today in the MHSAA: 5/24/16
May 24, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The final week of the 2016 spring regular season kicked off with league championships won in multiple sports and the setup of an intriguing one-inning title clincher to come Wednesday.
Baseball
On one side of the Saginaw Valley League title race, Division 1 No. 7 Bay City Western swept Bay City Central to set up a one-inning championship finale Wednesday against No. 9 Mount Pleasant – the two had a prior game suspended with the score 1-1 in the seventh inning, and the winner claims the league title – Bay City Times
On the other side of the SVL race, Mount Pleasant split with No. 6 Saginaw Heritage, winning the first game and losing the second, to set up the title-deciding inning – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Holland Christian’s Mike Mokma was perfect over his game’s five innings and also hit two home runs in a 14-0 win over Grandville Calvin Christian – Holland Sentinel
Golf
Manton shot its lowest score in 16 years, 157, to win a three-team match by 21 strokes – Cadillac News
Boys Lacrosse
Grand Rapids Northview hung on for an 11-8 win over Caledonia in the second round of their Regional – Grand Rapids Press
Girls Soccer
Hemlock’s seventh shutout this season led to its first league title in girls soccer with a 2-0 win over reigning champion Ovid-Elsie in the Tri-Valley Conference West – Midland Daily News
Madison Enderle scored eight goals and keeper Kalyn Breckenridge finished a school-record 17th shutout this season as Birch Run finished a perfect run in the TVC Central with a 12-0 win over Otisville-LakeVille – Saginaw News
Softball
Farmington Hills Mercy and Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard claimed Detroit Catholic League championships, Mercy in the A-B division and Gabriel Richard in C-D – Detroit Free Press
Norway won the Mid-Peninsula Conference championship with a 13-3 victory over Manistique thanks in part to two home runs by Bobbi Hulce – Iron Mountain Daily 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