Today in the MHSAA: 9/16/19

September 16, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

We’re a month away from the start of the postseason in most sports, but many of the state’s best got looks at the competition this weekend at prestigious invitationals for cross country, volleyball and girls swimming & diving.

1. Cross Country: The Brighton boys – top-ranked in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – finished first, and the LPD2 No. 1 East Grand Rapids girls finished second to a team from Ohio as the top in-state performers in the Elite race at the Spartan Invitational at Michigan State University – Athletic.net

2. Volleyball: Division 1 No. 3 Lowell won the Farmington Hills Mercy Invitational, sweeping the host and top-ranked Marlins in the final – Oakland Press

3. Girls Swimming & Diving: Zeeland claimed the West Michigan Relays title at Grand Haven, edging runner-up and LPD3 No. 1 East Grand Rapids by two points – Swimcloud.com

4. Cross Country: The LPD1 No. 3 Dexter boys and LPD1 No. 5 Salem girls were Division I winners, and Saugatuck swept its division’s races among many at the Holly Invitational – Athletic.net

5. Cross Country: Saline (LPD1 No. 4 girls, No. 6 boys) swept the Division 1 races, while the LPD2 honorable mention Tecumseh girls and Adrian boys also were team champions at the 51st Huron Invitational – Athletic.net

6. Volleyball: Division 3 honorable mention Morley Stanwood repeated as Big Rapids Crossroads Invitational champion, sweeping Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart in the final – Big Rapids News

7. Volleyball: Kingsford continued its tournament success this fall with the championship at the Gladstone Rock Invitational – Iron Mountain Daily News

8. Volleyball: Division 4 No. 5 Mendon lost only one set on the day and defeated Reading in the final in winning the Union City Tournament – Sturgis Journal

9. Volleyball: Manton also lost only one set in claiming its invitational, downing Charlevoix in the final – Cadillac News

10. Cross Country: The LPD1 No. 4 Romeo boys and Sterling Heights Stevenson girls claimed Autumn Classic championships – Macomb Daily

Today in the MHSAA: 3/3/20

March 3, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The Girls Basketball District Tournament tipped off Monday and the biggest wave came out of the Upper Peninsula, where Gladstone set the tone as top-two seeds won 90 percent of their games but the other 10 percent earned most of the biggest headlines.

1. Girls Basketball: Gladstone earned the biggest upset of District opening night, draining a last-second 3-pointer to get past previously-undefeated Menominee 46-45 in Division 2 – Escanaba Daily Press

2. Girls Basketball: Flint Carman-Ainsworth won a Division 1 matchup of league champions, downing Flushing 48-38 – WJRT

3. Girls Basketball: Cadillac won a matchup of league champions in Division 2, downing Ludington 43-39 – Cadillac News

4. Girls Basketball: East Kentwood ended Byron Center’s 19-game winning streak with a 50-43 win in Division 1; both teams were league champions this winter – WZZM

5. Girls Basketball: Eaton Rapids upset a league champion in Chelsea 58-49 in overtime in a Division 2 opener – Chelsea Sun Times News

6. Girls Basketball: Mayville got past a league champion in Kinde-North Huron 43-41 in Division 4 – Huron Daily Tribune

7. Girls Basketball: Bridgeport also upset a league champion, downing Caro 56-35 in Division 2 – Saginaw News

8. Girls Basketball: Jackson Lumen Christi ended the season for another league champion in Springport, 42-39 in Division 3 – Jackson Citizen Patriot

9. Girls Basketball: Cass City opened Division 3 play with an upset, downing Harbor Beach 46-34 – Huron Daily Tribune

10. Girls Basketball: Megan Matson led a Division 4 upset with 33 points in Munising’s 51-47 win over Rock Mid Peninsula – Escanaba Daily Press

Also of note …

Girls Basketball: Kent City may have set an MHSAA record with 40 points in the first quarter of a big Division 3 win over Ravenna – Muskegon Chronicle

Boys Basketball: From Friday, Kinde-North Huron earned a share of the North Central Thumb League Stripes title with a big win over Akron-Fairgrove – Huron Daily Tribune

Boys Swimming & Diving: From Saturday, Battle Creek Lakeview – tied for No. 10 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – locked up the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference championship – WWMT

Boys Swimming & Diving: From Saturday, LPD1 Ann Arbor Pioneer finished nearly 200 points ahead of a field that included three more top-10 teams to win the Southeastern Conference Red championship meet – We Love Ann Arbor