Today in the MHSAA: 6/8/17

June 8, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Our matchups are set for four MHSAA Lacrosse Finals to be played Saturday thanks to eight Semifinals across the Lower Peninsula on Wednesday.

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

Division 2 No. 5 DeWitt rallied early and often to down Division 1 No. 14 Holt 14-0 in the 56th Capital Diamond Classic championship game – Lansing State Journal

Boys Lacrosse

No. 2 Detroit Catholic Central went ahead for good with fewer than three minutes left in overtime to down No. 3 Hartland 12-11 in a Division 1 Semifinal – Oakland Press

No. 4 Rockford played reigning Division 1 champion and top-ranked Birmingham Brother Rice closer than most, but the Warriors earned another championship chance with an 8-6 Semifinal win – Grand Rapids Press

Top-ranked East Grand Rapids scored 13 goals during the second half on the way to a 17-7 Division 2 Semifinal win over No. 3 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood – Oakland Press

No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central got past No. 4 Detroit Country Day in overtime 11-10 to advance in Division 2 – Fox 17

Girls Lacrosse

Four-time reigning Division 1 champion and top-ranked Rockford will play for another title after downing No. 6 Northville 22-4 in a Semifinal – Grand Rapids Press

No. 5 Birmingham United also needed overtime to down a No. 3 Hartland team, doing so in a Division 1 Semifinal 13-11 – Oakland Press

Top-ranked Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingwood will return to the Division 2 Final after a 14-8 win over No. 4 Okemos – Detroit News

Reigning champion and No. 3 East Grand Rapids also will return to the Division 2 Final after a 16-3 win over unranked Farmington Hills Mercy.

Girls Soccer

With just under eight minutes to play, Louisa Judge drilled a free kick to give No. 6 Dexter a 2-1 lead in its eventual Division 2 Regional Semifinal win over No. 4 Trenton – MLive-Detroit

Saline fought back from a rare deficit to down Brownstown Woodhaven 2-1 in a Division 1 Regional Semifinal matchup of unranked teams – Saline Post

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