Today in the MHSAA: 6/6/16
June 6, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Another busiest week – and busiest day – in MHSAA sports is in the books. So too are Finals champions in track & field and girls tennis, and hundreds of District champions in baseball, softball and girls soccer and Regional champions in girls and boys lacrosse.
We touch on the statewide media coverage of just some of the highlights below.
Baseball
Top-ranked Coldwater won its fifth straight District title, downing No. 10 Marshall 8-4 in the championship game in Division 2 – Battle Creek Enquirer
Unranked Beaverton emerged from a Division 3 District that included No. 2 Sanford Meridian and No. 3 Clare – Midland Daily News
Birmingham Groves got past Birmingham Brother Rice 8-6 in Division 1 to win its first District championship since 2005 – Oakland Press
Boys Lacrosse
Birmingham Brother Rice received a rare scare before downing Clarkston 9-6 in Division 1 – Observer & Eccentric
Okemos won its second straight Division 2 Regional title by surviving Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 9-8 – Lansing State Journal
Girls Lacrosse
Reigning Division 2 champion East Grand Rapids needed overtime to survive, 11-9, against Grand Rapids Catholic Central – Fox17
Rockford just edged Grand Rapids Forest Hills United 9-8 to move on in Division 1 – Grand Rapids Press
Girls Soccer
Division 3 No. 6 Freeland won its seventh straight District title, this time with a 4-1 championship game clincher over Alma – Midland Daily News
Division 4 No. 2 Elk Rapids moved to 21-0 this season with an 8-0 championship game win over No. 14 Leland – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Softball
Blissfield downed No. 6 Dundee to start Saturday, but top-ranked Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central beat Blissfield 4-1 in 10 innings in the Division 3 championship game – Adrian Daily Telegram
After seeing a 10-year District streak snapped in 2015, New Baltimore Anchor Bay made it 11 in 12 seasons with a 2-1 avenging of last year’s loss to Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse in Division 1 – Macomb Daily
Fulton won its first District title in this sport, downing rival Fowler 8-3 in the Division 4 championship game – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Girls Tennis
Four MHSAA Lower Peninsula tennis teams won championships: Midland Dow in Division 1 after finishing runner-up in 2015, Bloomfield Hills Marian in Division 2 for the first time since 2013, Detroit County Day in Division 3 breaking a five-year hold on the title by Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, and Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart in a repeat in Division 4 – Second Half
Girls Track & Field
We covered all seven championship meets across both peninsulas, with the following teams winning titles: Oak Park, Lansing Waverly, Ithaca, Fowler, Marquette, Ishpeming and Ontonagon. Ithaca and Lansing Waverly's titles were their first, and Ontonagon’s its first since 1974 – Second Half
Boys Track & Field
We also covered all seven boys meets, with the following champions: Oak Park, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, Sanford Meridian, Saugatuck, Marquette, Ishpeming and Rapid River. Oak Park’s title was its first in the sport – Second Half
Today in the MHSAA: 2/28/19
February 28, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Wednesday was filled with upsets galore as we kick off the headlines with a pair of Hockey Regional surprises and move into Boys Basketball Districts and a big night for Byron’s girls hoops team.
1. Hockey: Big Rapids upset its second straight ranked opponent this week, downing No. 8 Flint Powers Catholic 8-4 in a Division 3 Regional Semifinal – Big Rapids News
2. Hockey: No. 6 Detroit Country Day downed No. 3 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 3-1 in another Division 3 Regional Semifinal – Oakland Press
3. Boys Basketball: Grand Rapids Catholic Central came back from a 15-point deficit to defeat Grand Rapids Christin 71-63 in a Division 2 District Semifinal – Grand Rapids Press
4. Hockey: Division 3 No. 11 East Grand Rapids scored the game winner with 16 seconds to play in a 5-4 victory over No. 14 Grand Rapids Catholic Central – WOOD TV
5. Boys Basketball: Unionville-Sebewaing won a Division 3 District matchup of champions from the Greater Thumb Conference, downing Harbor Beach 70-51 – Huron Daily Tribune
6. Boys Basketball: Saline stunned Ann Arbor Pioneer, 63-52 in a Division 1 District Semifinal – Detroit News
7. Boys Basketball: Last place Gaylord upset Big North Conference co-champion Petoskey 49-38 in Division 1 – Gaylord Herald Times
8. Boys Basketball: Canton downed Westland John Glenn 67-61 in a Division 1 matchup showcasing two Mr. Basketball Award finalists – State Champs!
9. Girls Basketball: Byron clinched a share of the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference title, and Maylee Hatt went over 1,000 career points against Durand – Flint Journal
10. Boys Basketball: Schoolcraft avenged its two regular-season losses to Kalamazoo Hackett with a 60-58 win in Division 3 – JoeInsider.com
Also of note …
Girls Basketball: Detroit Edison’s Rickea Jackson, Grosse Pointe North’s Julia Ayrault, Saginaw Heritage’s Moira Joiner and Muskegon’s Alyza Winston were named finalists for the Miss Basketball Award – State Champs!
Boys Basketball: Mason Bakker went over 1,000 career points although Zeeland West fell to Hudsonville in Division 1 – Holland Sentinel
Officiating: Dowagiac’s Randy Melvin will retire from officiating after this week and 46 years serving high school sports – Niles Daily Star
Girls Basketball: From Tuesday, Pittsford claimed its sixth straight Southern Central Athletic Association East title with a 53-45 win over Camden-Frontier – Hillsdale Daily News