Today in the MHSAA: 6/9/16
June 9, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Girls and Boys Lacrosse Semifinals gave us our championship contenders for Saturday's games, and they were joined as well Wednesday by key soccer wins and a pair of baseball milestones.
Boys Lacrosse
Birmingham Brother Rice will play for its 12th straight Division 1 championship after downing Detroit U-D Jesuit 17-4 in a Semifinal – Oakland Press
Detroit Catholic Central held Detroit County Day scoreless during the second half to advance in Division 1 with a 13-5 Semifinal win – Oakland Press
East Grand Rapids downed Okemos 16-15 in double overtime to get back to the Division 2 Final – Grand Rapids Press
After falling to Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in the postseason the last three years, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central earned a championship game berth with a 17-7 win over the Cranes – Grand Rapids Press
Girls Lacrosse
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood started on a 7-0 run in downing Farmington Hills Mercy 22-4 in a Division 2 Semifinal – Oakland Press
Four-time reigning Division 2 champion East Grand Rapids will play for a fifth straight title after downing Okemos 14-7 in a Semifinal – Grand Rapids Press
Three-time reigning Division 1 champion Rockford earned another trip to the Finals with a 23-7 win over Hartland – Livingston Daily
Birmingham United advanced to its first MHSAA lacrosse championship game since 2012 with a 16-4 win over Ann Arbor Pioneer in Division 1.
Girls soccer
The closest of four Regional games across the state came in Division 4, where Montrose got past Harbor Springs 2-0 – Petoskey News
Baseball
Shepherd baseball coach Jack Nartker retired after 27 seasons and a final 5-4 win over Beal City; his record is 647-288-7 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Grand Ledge avenged a District loss to Holt with a comeback win to claim the Capital Area Diamond Classic championship 7-3 and finish 31-4 – Lansing State Journal
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