Today in the MHSAA: 6/3/16

June 3, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Nine Upper Peninsula teams won the first MHSAA Finals championships awarded this spring season Thursday, while a number of Lower Peninsula teams positioned themselves for trophy hunts this weekend and beyond.

Girls Golf

Escanaba, Cedarville and Iron Mountain provided some surprises and streak breakers in winning MHSAA Upper Peninsula Finals – Second Half

Boys Golf

The top three ranked teams in Lower Peninsula Division 2 played in the same Regional on Thursday – with top ranked Ada Forest Hills Eastern finishing two strokes ahead of No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern and four ahead of No. 3 St. Johns as all three advanced to next weekend – Grand Rapids Press

Jackson Lumen Christi, No. 2 in LP Division 3, won its 11th straight Regional title – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Houghton won its third straight MHSAA title, Carney-Nadeau repeated and St. Ignace also won a championship at Upper Peninsula Finals – Second Half

Girls Soccer

Bay City Western avenged an earlier 5-0 loss with a 1-0 win over Midland in a Division 1 District Semifinal – Bay City Times

Traverse City West downed rival Traverse City Central 1-0 with the lone goal coming in overtime – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Division 1 No. 6 Bloomfield Hills needed a shootout to get past Waterford Mott, 1-0 – Oakland Press

Fennville downed Dowagiac 1-0 in Division 3 to advance to a District Final for the first time – Holland Sentinel

Boys Tennis

Ishpeming Westwood ran its MHSAA title streak to three straight, while a pair of powers shared the Division 1 title – Second Half

Good Read

We’re big fans of playing more than one high school sport, and so we’re big fans of the work of Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills senior Alexis Baskin, who recently received the Michigan High School Coaches Association Rich Tompkins Multi-Sport Athlete Award after earning a combined 12 letters in volleyball, basketball and track & field – Grand Rapids Press

Today in the MHSAA: 3/11/16

March 11, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Thursday saw multiple Michigan girls basketball teams win Regional titles for the first time and all three undefeated teams in Class C fall. And in hockey, our Division 2 Final will include a past champ versus a first-time advancer.

Girls Basketball

In a meeting of arguably the two favorites in Class A heading into the tournament, Detroit Martin Luther King came away with a 74-56 win over Southfield-Lathrup – Detroit Free Press

St. Johns won its first Regional title in 11 seasons with a 46-43 victory over Saginaw Heritage in Class A – Lansing State Journal

Warren Cousino claimed its first Regional championship with a 49-39 win over reigning Class A champion Bloomfield Hills Marian – Macomb Daily

Bay City John Glenn also earned its first Regional title, downing Freeland 59-27 in Class B – Bay City Times

Grand Rapids Covenant Christian earned its first trip to the Quarterfinals since 2000 with a 31-30 win over Kent City in Class C – Grand Rapids Press

Niles Brandywine handed Gobles its first and only loss of the season, 53-47 in a Class C Regional Final – Niles Daily Star

St. Ignace ended a perfect run for reigning Class C champion Calumet with a one-point win – Escanaba Daily Press

Ithaca won its first Regional title with a 68-45 victory over Reese in Class C – Saginaw News

Also in Class C, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep ended Napoleon’s perfect run with a 40-30 win to claim a third straight Regional title – Jackson Citizen Patriot

Stephenson earned its first Regional title since 1982 by downing four-time reigning Regional champ Crystal Falls Forest Park in Class D – Iron Mountain Daily News

Ice Hockey

No. 3-ranked Livonia Stevenson reached the Division 2 Final with a 5-1 win over No. 2 Hartland – Detroit News

Romeo reached its first MHSAA Final in hockey with a 5-2 win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern in Division 2 – Macomb Daily