Today in the MHSAA: 8/24/20

August 24, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Cross country statewide and volleyball, boys soccer and girls swimming & diving in northern Michigan were able to kick off competition over the weekend, bringing a fresh slate of storylines to the return of high school athletics in this state.

1. Cross Country: Bay City Western ran its first dual meets in 21 years, with the boys defeating Freeland and the Freeland girls winning by two in a matchup of possible Finals contenders – Bay City Times

2. Girls Golf: Rockford edged St. Joseph by 11 strokes to win the Sydney Carfine Invitational at The Meadows – Local Sports Journal

3. Boys Tennis: South Lyon freshman Cameron Crosby dominated No. 1 singles in highlighting the season-opening Pinckney quad – Livingston Daily

4. Volleyball: Grand Haven opened with a strong showing at Cadillac, defeating the host Vikings, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern and Coopersville – Grand Haven Tribune

5. Boys Tennis: Big Rapids won back-to-back quads at Ludington and Wyoming – Big Rapids News

6. Volleyball: Petoskey edged Alpena 25-23, 25-19 to win the Sault Ste. Marie Invitational – Alpena News

7. Cross Country: Adrian Lenawee Christian swept championships at the Addison Early Bird Invitational – JTV

8. Girls Tennis: Ishpeming Westwood and Iron Mountain swept their tri-meets as the annual Kingsford Invitational was split into two round-robins to account for COVID-19 restrictions – Iron Mountain Daily News

9. Girls Golf: Parma Western shot a 380 to win its invitational by nine strokes – JTV

10. Boys Soccer: Traverse City Central outscored Manistee and Boyne City by a combined 11-0 during Saturday play – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Also of note …

Football: From last week, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and Muskegon Catholic Central are mourning the death of Cranbrook varsity coach Ben Jones, who died in a car crash; he formerly starred at MCC – Detroit News

Boys Basketball: Clinton Township Chippewa Valley coach Kevin Voss has retired after 38 years coaching basketball – Macomb Daily

Today in the MHSAA: 2/12/20

February 12, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Tuesday saw a mix of personal milestones with record book implications and massive hoops matchups that continued to shift league standings with only a few weeks remaining in this regular season.

1. Boys Basketball: Wyoming’s Menalito McGee and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern’s Ethan Erickson earned spots in the MHSAA record book for single-game 3-pointers in their teams’ Tuesday victories – Grand Rapids Press

2. Boys Basketball: Erie Mason’s Joe Liedel scored 37 points in a 63-38 win over Brooklyn Columbia Central to set the Monroe County Region career scoring record at 1,951 – Monroe News

3. Girls Basketball: Saginaw Heritage shook up the Saginaw Valley League standings with a 56-39 win over formerly first-place Midland – Midland Daily News

4. Boys Swimming & Diving: Collin Che set Midland Dow school and pool records in the 100-yard butterfly in his team’s 138-42 win over Midland; Dow is ranked No. 3 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – Midland Daily News

5. Boys Basketball: Detroit Douglass advanced to the Detroit Public School League Tournament final with a 76-46 win over Detroit Martin Luther King – Detroit News

6. Girls Basketball: Williamston earned a major win on a buzzer beater, 37-35 over DeWitt – Lansing State Journal

7. Girls Basketball: Trenton moved into first place alone in the Downriver League with a 44-37 overtime win over Lincoln Park – Southgate News-Herald

8. Boys Basketball: Hopkins moved into first place alone in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Silver with a 66-60 win over Grandville Calvin Christian – FOX 17

9. Girls Basketball: Walled Lake Western held on to first place alone in the Lakes Valley Conference with a 44-37 win over Waterford Mott – State Champs Sports Network

10. Boys Basketball: A last-second put-back gave Posen a 47-46 win over previously one-loss Hale – Alpena News

Also of note …

Girls Basketball: Freeland’s Kadyn Blanchard went over 1,000 career points in her team’s 56-32 win over Alma – Saginaw News

Boys Basketball: Fowlerville junior Brendan Young went over 1,000 career points with 33 (plus 20 rebounds) in a 74-62 win over Lansing Sexton – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Boys Basketball: Brendan Busch scored 56 points in Hillsdale Will Carleton’s 73-19 win over Jackson Prep, giving his team 56-point games by two players over a week – Hillsdale Daily News

Softball: After seven seasons away, Adrian Lenawee Christian will bring back the sport this spring – Adrian Daily Telegram

Bowling: From Saturday, the Howard City Tri County girls team locked up its first Central State Activities Association title – Greenville Daily News