Today in the MHSAA: 6/1/17

June 1, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The first MHSAA Finals championships of this spring were celebrated Wednesday in golf and tennis, while Hudsonville’s longtime softball coach celebrated a milestone win few have equaled.

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.

Girls Golf

Escanaba repeated as Upper Peninsula Division 1 champion, finishing 18 strokes ahead of Houghton – Second Half

Boys Golf

Escanaba pushed past three-time reigning champion Houghton to win the Upper Peninsula Division 1 title – Second Half

Lower Peninsula Division 3 No. 10 Shepherd won its first Regional title in more than a decade – Saginaw News

Unranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central edged No. 7 Rockford by a stroke to win an LP Division 1 regional title – Grand Rapids Press

No. 6 Plymouth won a third straight LP Division 1 Regional title, shooting a 319 to edge No. 10 Ann Arbor Skyline by five strokes – Observer & Eccentric

Boys Lacrosse

No. 3 Hartland claimed its first Regional title in boys lacrosse with an 11-10 win over Midland in Division 1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

No. 5 Warren DeLaSalle edged No. 8 Grosse Pointe North 10-8 to claim a Division 2 title – Macomb Daily

No. 9 Clarkston avenged a regular-season loss by downing No. 8 Lake Orion 12-9 in another Division 1 Regional Final – Oakland Press

Girls Soccer

Swartz Creek continued its perfect run with a 2-1 Division 1 District Semifinal win over Davison, which scored first – Flint Journal

Newaygo escaped with a 2-1 win over Muskegon Oakridge after a shootout in a Division 3 District Semifinal and thanks to 36 saves by Jenna Janke – Muskegon Chronicle

No. 17 Portage Central got past rival Portage Northern 1-0 in a Division 1 District Semifinal – Kalamazoo Gazette

Softball

Hudsonville downed Allendale 10-0 to give 36-year coach Tom Vruggink his 1,000th career win, against only 263 losses – Grand Rapids Press

Division 1 No. 10 Mount Pleasant split with Division 2 top-ranked Saginaw Swan Valley, with a 6-5 win in the first game the Vikings’ first loss this season – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Boys Tennis

Ishpeming Westwood won six flights in claiming a fourth straight Upper Peninsula Division 2 title – Second Half

Negaunee won its fifth MHSAA Finals title this decade, claiming six flights during a Division 1 run – Second Half

Today in the MHSAA: 3/9/17

March 9, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

High winds and power outages couldn’t down Wednesday’s eight MHSAA Hockey Quarterfinals and a number of boys basketball District games all over the state.

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. 

Boys Basketball

Detroit Public School League champion Cass Tech got past rival Detroit East English 72-67 in a Class A District Semifinal – MLive-Detroit

Freeland edged Sanford Meridian Early College 46-42 in a Class B matchup of teams that entered the night a combined 36-3 – Saginaw News

Newberry clinched its first District title since 1998, downing St. Ignace 67-55 in Class C – Marquette Mining Journal

Rapid River won its first District title also in more than a decade by downing Rock Mid Peninsula 60-50 in Class D – Escanaba Daily Press

Walled Lake Western and Walled Lake Northern met for the fourth time, with this last matchup going to Western 49-45 in Class A – Oakland Press

Onsted, which had fallen twice to Hillsdale this season, handed the Hornets their first and only loss in a Class B District Semifinal – Hillsdale Daily News

St. Joseph similarly had fallen twice to Portage Central, but came back to win their third matchup 50-47 in Class A – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Hockey

No. 3 Brighton returned to the Division 1 Semifinals with a 7-0 win over Lowell – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Division 1 No. 4 Northville continued its run toward a possible first championship game berth with a 6-2 win over Macomb Dakota – Macomb Daily

Top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central booked a return to the Semifinals with a 6-2 win over Bay City Central/Western in Division 1 – Observer & Eccentric

Grandville also is becoming a regular in the Semifinals and will return after an 8-4 Division 1 win over Rockford – Grand Rapids Press

In a matchup of the top two ranked teams in Division 3, No. 1 Flint Powers Catholic came away with a 3-2 overtime win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central – Flint Journal

Calumet will play in the Division 3 Semifinals for the first time in six seasons after a 7-3 win over Big Rapids – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Warren DeLaSalle got past Detroit Country Day 4-0 in Division 3 – Macomb Daily

Dearborn Divine Child continued its surprise Division 3 run with a 4-3 win over Chelsea – Dearborn Press & Guide

Volleyball

Buchanan coach Lisa Holok resigned after 13 seasons and more than 500 victories, plus a trip this past fall to the Class B Semifinals – South Bend Tribune

Good Read

Only a few weeks before Mark Blentlinger was to take over the Schoolcraft bowling program in 2010, his daughter Kyleigh – who helped start the girls team – died suddenly. He thought of her much during the girls team’s run to the Division 4 Semifinals on Friday – Kalamazoo Gazette