Today in the MHSAA: 6/13/16

June 13, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Tawas and Clarkston Everest Collegiate won their first MHSAA titles in any sport Saturday, in boys golf, as teams in six sports claimed either Regional or Finals championships over the weekend.

Baseball

Holland Christian won its Division 2 Regional with a walk-off double by star pitcher Mike Mokma – Holland Sentinel

Detroit Country Day’s walk-off homer in the eighth inning pushed the Yellowjackets past reigning Division 2 champion Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 4-3 – Oakland Press

Scottville Mason County Central downed Carson City-Crystal 8-5 in Division 3 to win its first Regional title since 1998 – Muskegon Chronicle

Niles in Division 2 won its first Regional title since 1999 by downing Sturgis after beating top-ranked Coldwater in the day’s first game – Niles Daily Star

Rochester’s last late run pushed it past Adams in Division 1 and to its first Regional title since 1998 – Oakland Press

Boys Golf

Tawas and Clarkston Everest Collegiate won their first MHSAA Finals championships in any sport, while St. Johns won its first in boys golf and Detroit Catholic Central continued its reign in Division 1 – Second Half

Boys Lacrosse

Birmingham Brother Rice continued its 12-year hold on Division 1 and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central returned to the top in Division 2 at Saturday’s Finals – Second Half

Girls Lacrosse

For the fourth and fifth straight seasons, respectively, Rockford and East Grand Rapids reigned again at Saturday’s Girls Lacrosse Finals – Second Half

Girls Soccer

Grosse Ile downed Williamston 1-0 in Division 3 to win its first Regional title in the sport – Macomb Daily

Softball

Reigning Division 4 champion Unionville-Sebewaing survived two more strong opponents to win its Regional with a 1-0 win over Brown City and then 3-0 win over Waterford Our Lady – Huron Daily Tribune

Reigning Division 3 champion Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central downed No. 8 Napoleon 9-1 and then No. 4 Clinton 7-1 to advance again – Monroe Evening News

Farmington Hills Mercy repeated as a Division 1 Regional champ and slugger Abby Krzywiecki knocked her 20th home run of the season – Detroit News

Shepherd in Division 3 won its first Regional title since 1997 beating No. 9 Reese in the championship game – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Macomb Dakota downed two opponents in shutouts to win its first Regional title, in Division 1 – Macomb Daily

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