Today in the MHSAA: 6/12/17
June 12, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
MHSAA champions in Lower Peninsula boys golf and girls and boys lacrosse were crowned Saturday as the 2016-17 school year turned into its final week. The final eight spots in the Girls Soccer Semifinals also were determined Friday, with 32 quarterfinalists in baseball and softball earning their way in Saturday Regionals.
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
Corunna claimed its first Regional title since 2005, downing No. 12 Fowlerville in Division 2 after the Gladiators had eliminated No. 5 DeWitt earlier in the day – Owosso Argus-Press
Rochester scored eight runs during the seventh inning to win a Division 1 Regional Final over No. 5 Birmingham Brother Rice – C&G Newspapers
No. 10 Gaylord St. Mary scored most in an offensive shootout, downing No. 9 Maple City Glen Lake 13-10 in a Division 4 Regional Final – Gaylord Herald-Times
No. 12 Saginaw Heritage shut out No. 7 Midland 3-0 to finish a Division 1 Regional title run – Midland Daily News
Macomb Lutheran North hit three home runs in upsetting No. 2 Detroit Country Day 19-5 in a Division 2 Regional Final – Macomb Daily
No. 4 Homer put up five runs in the sixth inning to get past Michigan Center 7-6 in Division 3 – Jackson Citizen Patriot
No. 14 Holt downed Howell 3-1 and then No. 17 Grand Ledge 5-4 to claim its first Regional title, in Division 1 – Lansing State Journal
Boys Golf
Detroit Catholic Central claimed its third straight Division 1 title, St. Johns repeated in Division 2 and Clarkston Everest Collegiate repeated in Division 4, and Jackson Lumen Christi returned to the top of Division 3 at Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Finals – Second Half
Boys Lacrosse
Birmingham Brother Rice won its 13th straight Division 1 title, again over rival Detroit Catholic Central, while East Grand Rapids won the Division 2 title over rival Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central – Second Half
Girls Lacrosse
In one of the all-time thrillers in MHSAA lacrosse history, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood downed East Grand Rapids in overtime for the Division 2 title, while Rockford added its fifth straight championship in Division 1 – Second Half
Girls Soccer
Top-ranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central jumped out to a three-goal lead and didn’t look back in a 3-1 Semifinal win over No. 2 Brighton in Division 1 – Grand Rapids Press
No. 7 Linden edged reigning Division 2 champion and current No. 3 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep to advance to this week – Flint Journal
Saline and No. 11 Plymouth went into a shootout scoreless, but the Hornets emerged victorious in Division 1 – Saline Post
Top-ranked Flint Powers advanced in Division 3 with a 5-0 win over No. 16 Lansing Catholic – Flint Journal
No. 8 Macomb Lutheran North also advanced in Division 3 with a shootout win over No. 5 Grosse Ile – Southgate News Herald
No. 3 Freeland won a fourth straight Regional title, downing Charlevoix 5-0 in Division 3 – Saginaw News
Top-ranked Lansing Christian won its fifth straight Regional title, downing No. 14 Manchester 4-1 in Division 4 – MLive-Lansing
Top-ranked Bloomfield Hills Marian remained undefeated with a 2-0 Division 2 win over No. 6 Dexter – Observer & Eccentric
Softball
Shepherd downed Pinconning and then beat No. 8 Beaverton 8-7 in a Division 3 Regional Final – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Reigning Division 2 champion and current No. 2 Richmond needed nine innings but downed honorable mention Detroit Country Day 2-1 in a Division 2 Regional Final – Port Huron Times Herald
Twice No. 6 Holton rallied in seventh innings Saturday, the second time in an 8-7 win over Beal City, to claim a Division 4 Regional title – Muskegon Chronicle
No. 5 Mattawan downed No. 2 Howell in a Division 1 Regional for the third straight season – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Alicia Ascencio’s three-run walk-off homer pushed Garden City past Grosse Pointe North in a Division 1 Regional Final – Observer & Eccentric
No. 6 Stevensville Lakeshore gave up two runs total in wins over No. 4 Vicksburg and Edwardsburg to claim the Division 2 title – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
No. 5 Coleman advanced to a third straight Division 4 Quarterfinal with a 12-6 win over honorable mention Morrice – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Mendon won its first Regional title since 1992, downing Camden-Frontier, after entering the postseason with a sub-.500 record – Sturgis Journal
Did you see that? (May 27-June 2)
June 3, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This week’s report of the best from the previous seven days is decidedly slanted toward the action of Friday and Saturday’s MHSAA Finals, Regionals and District competitions.
And as always is the case after this incredibly busy first weekend in June, there is plenty to tell.
Here’s a look at some of the biggest headlines, many of which were published on Second Half.
Girls Track and Field
Saluting the seniors: This class of 2013 has to be considered one of the strongest groups of seniors in MHSAA girls track and field history. For the second straight spring, Reed City’s Sami Michell won four MHSAA championships, and this time set the Lower Peninsula record with 12 career Finals titles. Grosse Pointe South’s Meier twins, West Bloomfield’s Erin Finn and Detroit Country Day’s Kendall Baisden are just a handful of the other incredible talents who ran their final high school meets. Click below for coverage from all seven, both Lower and Upper Peninsula.(LPD1) (LPD2) (LPD3) (LPD4) (UPD1) (UPD2) (UPD3)
Boys Track and Field
First in a while, first ever: Wyoming Kelloggsville in LP Division 3 and Saugatuck in LP Division 4 celebrated their first MHSAA championships in this sport – and Manistique in UP Division 2 won a team title for the first time since 1960. (LPD1) (LPD2) (LPD3) (LPD4) (UPD1) (UPD2) (UPD3)
Girls Tennis
Re-joining the powerhouses: Birmingham Marian, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood and Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart all won MHSAA Lower Peninsula championships to add to long runs of dominance. This season, Port Huron Northern joined them with a two-point win in Division 1 that gave the Huskies their first Finals team title since 2002. (LPD1) (LPD2) (LPD3) (LPD4)
Girls Golf
Raising the bar: Houghton won its third straight MHSAA championship and in the process also lowered its team score at the Finals for the third straight season – this time 18 strokes from 2012. But the most incredible number came from Marquette’s Avery Rochester, who carded a U.P. Finals-record 69, 10 strokes better than the previous low mark. Click below to read also about Iron Mountain’s dominance and Munising’s first team title. (UPD1) (UPD2) (UPD3)
Boys Golf
Winning at the right time: Hancock’s first victory of this season came in last week’s MHSAA U.P. Division 3 Final. All three tournaments were filled with their shares of surprises – see the links. (UPD1) (UPD2) (UPD3)
Boys Tennis
Count ends at 60: Kingsford won its first outright MHSAA team title in 60 years, in Division 1, while Iron River West Iron County rode motivation of a second place in 2012 to finish first this time in Division 2. (UPD1) (UPD2)
Softball
Clinton continues title streak: Reigning Division 3 Finals champion Clinton needed a 7-4, eight-inning win over Manchester and a 6-5 title-clincher over Brooklyn Columbia Central in the final to win its District for the sixth straight season. (Adrian Daily Telegram)
Jackson hoists first District trophy: The Vikings downed Battle Creek Lakeview and Grand Ledge to claim their first District championship. (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)
Baseball
Surprise winner in Portage: A Portage team was favored to win the Division 1 District in its hometown, but unranked Portage Northern will be moving on after scoring three runs in the seventh inning to down No. 3 Portage Central 3-2 in the final. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Cougars survive: No. 2-ranked Lansing Catholic had to face No. 5 Bath, at Bath, in their Division 3 District Final. But the Cougars rode a sixth-inning rally to claim a 2-1 victory. (Lansing State Journal)
Oilers win battle of ranked in D2: No. 4 Mount Pleasant had 15 hits and pulled away quickly in ending the season of No. 6 Bullock Creek in a Division 2 final. (Mount Pleasant Morning Sun)
Record-breaking run continues: Charlevoix has set a school record with 27 wins this season, the most recent coming Saturday to give the team its first District title since 1988. (Charlevoix Courier)
Girls Lacrosse
Hartland lives on: Eventually, either Hartland or Brighton would be alone emerging from Livingston County this season. Hartland won this final battle between the two top-10 Division 1 teams, 17-15. (Livingston Daily Press & Argus)
Girls Soccer
Oakridge shuts District down: Muskegon Oakridge won its first girls soccer District championship with its third shutout of the tournament, 5-0 over Muskegon Orchard View. (Muskegon Chronicle)
Caledonia emerges from crowded field: Three of the top 10 plus two more honorable mentions in the final Division 1 coaches poll played in the District at Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, and honorable mention Caledonia claimed the title after defeating No. 6 East Kentwood in the final. (Grand Rapids Press)