Today in the MHSAA: 9/18/17

September 18, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

Today's Top 10

1. Cross Country: The Rockford girls (No. 9 in LP Division 1) and White Lake Lakeland boys (No. 11 in LP Division 1) won Spartan Invitational Elite championships at Michigan State facing many of the best teams in the state, regardless of division; Coldwater’s Shuaib Aljabaly and Lansing Catholic’s Olivia Theis were the individual winners – Athletic.net

2. Cross Country: The Ann Arbor Pioneer (LPD1 No. 1), Linden (LPD2 No. 4), St. Clair (LPD2 No. 3), Caro (LPD3 No. 2) and Plymouth Christian (LPD4 No. 15) boys and Fenton, Pinckney (LPD1 T-No. 10), Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard (LPD2 No. 7), Saugatuck (LPD3 No. 6) and Deckerville (LPD4 No. 9) girls won championships at the annual Holly Invitational – Athletic.net

3. Volleyball: Unranked Grant topped a strong field to win the Cadillac Invitational, defeating the host in the final after the Vikings eliminated Class D No. 2 Leland in its semifinal; Leland did avenge an earlier loss this season to Class B honorable mention Kingsley and Grant downed Class C No. 7 Traverse City St. Francis and Midland in bracket play as well – Cadillac News

4, Volleyball: Class A honorable mention Northville swept all six of its matches including over No. 7 Temperance Bedford at the Kicking Mules’ invitational – Observer & Eccentric

5. Volleyball: Class D No. 6 North Adams-Jerome downed host Onsted in an invitational final after sweeping Class C No. 10 Adrian Madison in a semifinal – Adrian Daily Telegram

6. Volleyball: Class C No. 1 Bronson came back from losing to Okemos to start the day to win the Portage Northern Invitational, downing Niles in the final – Coldwater Daily Reporter

7. Volleyball: Class D No. 10 Rudyard downed Pellston in the championship match of the Charlevoix Invitational – Petoskey News-Review

8. Boys Tennis: Midland Dow outscored its opponents by a combined 24-0 to win the Sunsational Saturday Tournament, downing Traverse City Central, LPD2 No. 10 St. Joseph and Grosse Pointe North – Midland Daily News

9. Boys Soccer: Battle Creek Lakeview won its second straight All-City championship, downing Battle Creek Central in the championship match – Battle Creek Enquirer

10. Boys Tennis: Grand Haven narrowly claimed the Holland Invitational, scoring 14 points to 13 for the host Dutch, 11 for Spring Lake and 10 for Grand Rapids Northview – Grand Haven Tribune

Today in the MHSAA: 1/27/16

January 27, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Tuesday evening was arguably the most highlight-filled of any so far this basketball season, with plenty of important results and intriguing performances making headlines across the state.

Girls Basketball

Utica Eisenhower has gotten the attention this season with an 11-1 record heading into this week, but Utica is undefeated in the Macomb Area Conference White after downing Eisenhower 34-30 – Macomb Daily

Southfield-Lathrup remains the team to beat in the Oakland Activities Association Red and among contenders in Class A after defeating Clarkston 57-44 – Oakland Press

One-loss Frankenmuth dealt Ithaca its first this season in a Tri-Valley Conference crossover, 45-44 – Saginaw News

Saginaw Nouvel also dealt a first loss to an undefeated power, downing Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart 46-41 – Saginaw News

Jackson Northwest’s Lexie Khon scored her 1,000th career point in the Mounties 72-32 win over Stockbridge – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Pewamo-Westphalia picked up a key Central Michigan Athletic Conference win by handing Bath just its second loss, 53-40 – Lansing State Journal

Mendon won a matchup of Class D contenders, carrying a one-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter to a 45-39 win – Sturgis Journal

Grosse Pointe South earned an upset over rival Grosse Pointe North, handing GPN its second loss, 60-55 – Detroit News

Muskegon’s Mardrekia Cook, this week’s Michigan National Guard “Performance of the Week” honoree (see story posted on Second Half today) led the Big Reds to a 63-19 win with a quadruple-double – 19 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and 10 steals – Muskegon Chronicle

Boys Basketball

Arthur Lyons helped keep Lake Linden-Hubbell undefeated with 39 points in a 76-73 double overtime win over Ewen-Trout Creek – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Holly coach Lance Baylis tied the school coaching record for wins with his 148th in a 72-42 victory over Flushing – Flint Journal

Alma had three buzzer-beating shots in moving to 10-1 with a 78-77 overtime win over Freeland – Saginaw News

Wyoming Godwin Heights broke free during the final quarter to hand Grandville Calvin Christian its first loss, 64-50 – Grand Rapids Press

Petoskey took sole possession of first place in the Big North Conference with a 62-57 win over former co-leader Traverse City Central – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Demetrius Lake, featured on Second Half last week after a buzzer-beating performance, finished another with 48 points and the winning shot in a 79-77 win over Hudsonville Unity Christian – Holland Sentinel

Negaunee won a battle of undefeated teams by a basket, edging Iron Mountain 51-49 to take over first place alone in the Mid-Peninsula Athletic Conference – Iron Mountain Daily News