Today in the MHSAA: 9/23/19

September 23, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Today’s list of the weekend’s top achievers has a definite Grand Rapids-area tilt as teams from five schools from that part of the state emerged as invitational champions in either cross country, golf, volleyball or swimming & diving.

1. Cross Country: The East Grand Rapids girls – No. 1 Lower Peninsula Division 2 – honorable mention Tecumseh and Jackson Lumen Christi girls and LPD1 No. 4 Romeo, LPD3 No. 1 Hanover-Horton and Manchester boys all won championships at the Jackson Invitational – Athletic.net

2. Volleyball: Division 2 No. 5 Coopersville downed honorable mention Kingsley in two sets to win the Cadillac Tournament title – Traverse City Record-Eagle

3. Volleyball: Division 2 honorable mention Onsted improved to 24-0 with an undefeated run through its invitational, including sweeping Division 4 No. 9 Adrian Lenawee Christian in the final – Adrian Daily Telegram

4. Volleyball: Division 3 No. 5 Bronson also finished a perfect tourney run, taking the Portage Northern Invitational title by downing the host in that final – Coldwater Daily Reporter

5. Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD2 No. 10 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central won the fastest wave of the Portage Central Invitational by a point over the host, ranked No. 5, and also ahead of No. 6 Midland Dow – Midland Daily News

6. Girls Golf: LPD2 top-ranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern shot a 297 to win the Greenville Invitational – Petoskey News-Review

7. Cross Country: The LPD2 No. 8 Sparta boys and No. 5 Cadillac girls won Muskegon Oakridge Invitational championships – Athletic.net

8. Cross Country: The LPD4 No. 8 Pittsford girls and LPD3 honorable mention Leslie boys won Pittsford’s invitational – Hillsdale Daily News

9. Volleyball: Stephenson downed Felch North Dickenson in the final to win the Crystal Falls Forest Park Invitational – Iron Mountain Daily News

10. Cross Country: Roscommon swept the big school championships at the Evart Invitational; the girls are ranked No. 13 in LPD3 – Big Rapids News

Today in the MHSAA: 2/27/19

February 27, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Hockey Regionals and a few Boys Basketball Districts continued Tuesday, but the evening was dominated by some of the final big-time girls basketball matchups of the regular season – including a rematch of last season’s Class A Final that this time came down to the final seconds.

1. Girls Basketball: In a rematch of last season’s Class A championship game, Saginaw Heritage came back to come out on top again, 55-53 over East Lansing – Saginaw News

2. Hockey: No. 4 Warren DeLaSalle got past No. 10 Grosse Pointe South 3-1 in a Regional matchup of ranked Division 3 teams – Macomb Daily

3. Girls Basketball: Wayne Memorial downed Brighton 61-48 to claim the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Tournament championship – Observer & Eccentric

4. Girls Basketball: Centreville downed Bloomingdale 51-34 to clinch the Southwest 10 Conference championship – Sturgis Journal

5. Girls Basketball: Gaylord St. Mary clinched a third straight Ski Valley Conference title with a 60-29 win over Johannesburg-Lewiston – Gaylord Herald Times

6. Girls Basketball: Stanton Central Montcalm pulled within one more win of a second-straight perfect regular season with a 48-42 victory over Kent City – FOX 17

7. Hockey: No. 8 Plymouth came back from a two-goal deficit to defeat South Lyon 5-4 in a Division 2 Regional – Observer & Eccentric

8. Boys Basketball: Jimmy Benoit’s putback gave Sault Ste. Marie a last-second Division 2 District win over Cheboygan – WPBN

9. Hockey: No. 9 Alpena avenged last season’s Division 3 Regional loss to Sault Ste. Marie with a 4-0 victory – Alpena News

10. Hockey: Howell moved on in the Division 2 bracket with a 6-2 win over Canton – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Also of note …

Volleyball: Longtime Michigan State University coach Chuck Erbe is taking over at Ada Forest Hills Eastern – Grand Rapids Press

Girls Basketball: Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central’s Juliana Paoletti went over 1,000 career points during a win over Clinton – Monroe News