Today in the MHSAA: 5/29/18

May 29, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
 

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

1. Track & Field: Clare’s girls and boys swept the Division 3 championships at the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association Meet – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

2. Track & Field: Rockford also swept MITCA titles, winning the championships in Division 1 just ahead of East Kentwood for both boys and girls – MITCA

3. Track & Field: The Zeeland East girls and Zeeland West boys claimed MITCA team championships in Division 2 – Holland Sentinel Girls | Boys

4. Track & Field: The Addison boys and Pittsford girls claimed the Division 4 MITCA titles – Adrian Daily Telegram (Boys) | MITCA (Girls)

5. Track & Field: The Oak Park girls won their fifth straight Oakland County meet, and the boys won their fourth straight county title – Oakland Press

6. Girls Soccer: Spring Lake edged Division 3 No. 4 Grand Rapids Catholic Central 1-0 to claim the outright Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue championship – FOX 17

7. Baseball: Grosse Pointe South coach Dan Griesbaum won his 800 and 801st games during the Grosse Pointe Invitational, as his Division 1 No. 19 Blue Devils defeated Plymouth and Grosse Pointe North, respectively (and lost to No. 11 Northville) – Detroit News

8. Baseball: Coldwater edged Division 3 No. 6 Bronson 11-10 in the championship game of Bronson’s tournament – Coldwater Daily Reporter

9. Softball: Division 2 No. 10 Essexville Garber downed host and Division 4 top-ranked Coleman to also win a tournament championship – Midland Daily News

10. Softball: More of the state’s best got a final tune-up at the Sanford Meridian Invitational, with Division 1 No. 6 Howell downing honorable mention Bay City Western, Division 3 honorable mention Meridian and Midland – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Also of note …

Girls Lacrosse: Longtime official Nancy Lapekas was celebrated last week after the last game of her 52-year career refereeing a number of sports – Grand Haven Tribune

Girls Basketball: Colleen Nagel will return to coach Grand Rapids Catholic Central after leading the Cougars to the 2010 Class B title before moving on to Ferris State – Grand Rapids Press

Did you see that? (June 3-9)

June 10, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The second of three weeks of spring MHSAA Finals came to a close with four more champions from lacrosse – plus 16 teams still alive in both baseball and softball, eight in girls soccer and 60 in Lower Peninsula boys golf.

See below for some of the biggest headlines from the week that was June 3-9.

Girls lacrosse

Champions of the west: A pair of Grand Rapids-area teams claimed the girls championships Saturday. Rockford defeated Bloomfield Hills United 16-7 in Division 1, while East Grand Rapids repeated in Division 2 with a 16-6 victory over Livonia Ladywood. (Second Half D1) (Second Half D2)

Boys Lacrosse

East-side excellence: Birmingham Brother Rice came back from an early deficit in the Division 1 Final to win its ninth-straight title by beating Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern 14-10. In Division 2, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood scored with 20.2 seconds to play to edge reigning champion Forest Hills Central 10-9. (Second Half D1) (Second Half D2)

Girls Soccer

Defensive standoff: Top-ranked Plymouth and No. 3 Novi needed a shootout to decide Friday’s Division 1 Regional Final. But Novi won that final round 2-1 to earn a 1-0 win and hand Plymouth its first and only loss this season. (MLive Detroit)

Powers survives comeback: Up 3-0 at halftime, reigning Division 3 runner-up Flint Powers Catholic advanced to within one win of returning to the Finals with a 3-2 Regional Final win over Lake Fenton. (Flint Journal)

Baseball

Oilers upend No. 1: Mount Pleasant, ranked No. 4 in Division 2, beat top-ranked Bay City John Glenn on the way to winning their Regional on Saturday. (Mount Pleasant Morning Sun)

MCC wins big: Muskegon Catholic Central moved on in Division 4 with a 9-0 Regional win over No. 2 Gobles in another of the weekend’s biggest baseball matchups. MCC entered the postseason ranked No. 5. (Muskegon Chronicle)

Softball

Dundee gets its chance: The Vikings won their first Regional championship and defeated two-time reigning Division 3 champion Clinton in the process Saturday at Blissfield. Dundee entered the postseason ranked No. 1 in the division. (Monroe Evening News)

Romeo prevails in pair of nail-biters: The No. 10-ranked Bulldogs were down to their final out before defeating Troy in a Regional Semifinal and then beat Hartland 3-0 in the championship game. Both Troy and Hartland were honorable mentions in the final Division 1 coaches poll. (Oakland Press)

Escanaba headed downstate: The Eskymos will face reigning MHSAA Division 2 runner-up Saginaw Swan Valley in a Quarterfinal for the second straight season thanks to a walk-off home run by sophomore Michelle LaFave in a 5-4 Regional Final win over Remus Chippewa Hills. (Escanaba Daily Press)

Boys Golf

SMAC East dominates: Top-ranked Battle Creek Lakeview in Division 1 and Marshall and Battle Creek Harper Creek in Division 2 all qualified for LP Finals, giving the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East three teams in this weekend’s championship tournaments. (Battle Creek Enquirer)

DeWitt outshoots No. 1: Previously unranked DeWitt shot a 313 to edge top-ranked East Lansing by a stroke at their Division 2 Regional at Gull Lake View. (Lansing State Journal)

Boys Basketball

CMU star takes over GRCC: Former Central Michigan University captain T.J. Meerman has taken over the Grand Rapids Catholic Central program after serving as an assistant coach last season at Grand Valley State University. Previously, Meerman coached the varsity at Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills. (Grand Rapids Press)