Today in the MHSAA: 6/15/16
June 15, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The first four girls soccer finalists and the 32 baseball and softball semifinalists were determined Tuesday across the state, with links below from all four soccer semifinals and some of the most dramatic diamond Quarterfinal finishes.
Baseball
New Lothrop scored six runs in the seventh inning to come all the way back and down Standish-Sterling 6-5 in Division 3 – Flint Journal
Gaylord St. Mary will play in a Semifinal for the first time since 1989 after downing Norway 6-2 – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Linden will be back in the MHSAA Semifinals for the first time since 2004 thanks to a 2-0 extra-inning win over Gaylord – Flint Journal
Dearborn Divine Child also needed extra innings to eliminate Detroit Country Day 4-3 in Division 2 – Oakland Press
Portland St. Patrick eliminated reigning Division 4 champion Muskegon Catholic Central 3-2 – Ionia Sentinel-Standard
Girls Soccer
Rochester Hills Stoney Creek dominated a 4-1 overtime shootout to come away with a 2-1 Semifinal win over Novi in Division 1 – Oakland Press
Canton dealt the first and only loss this season to Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central – Grand Rapids Press
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett returned to the MHSAA Finals for the first time since 2005 with a 1-0 win over top-ranked Lansing Christian – MLive-Detroit
Montrose will play in its first MHSAA Final in girls soccer thanks to a 3-0 win over Muskegon Western Michigan Christian in Division 4 – Flint Journal
Softball
Vicksburg scored five runs in the first inning on the way to downing reigning Division 2 champion Wayland 14-2 – Grand Rapids Press
Macomb Dakota added to this season’s firsts with its first Semifinal berth, downing Garden City 6-0 in Division 1 – Macomb Daily
Midland made its first MHSAA Semifinals in 28 years with an 8-1 win over Rockford in Division 1 – Midland Daily News
Division 4 top-ranked Coleman fell to Holton in the Quarterfinals for the second straight season, this time 6-3 – Muskegon Chronicle
Farmington Hills Mercy got past Lake Orion 11-7 in Division 1 as the teams combined for 19 hits – Oakland Press
In Division 3, 42-1 Millington earned its first Semifinal berth with a 1-0 win over Shepherd – Saginaw 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