Today in the MHSAA: 9/24/15
September 24, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Michigan’s athletes are in midseason form as we head into the final weekend of September, and some of Wednesday’s performances in cross country and golf are proof they’re hitting stride.
Cross Country
St. Joseph sophomore Anna Fischer, one of the top freshmen at last season’s MHSAA Finals, edged Portage Northern freshman Peyton Witt to win Wednesday’s Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West race – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills senior Madison Goen continued her streak of winning every race she’s run this season, going 18 minutes flat as Kenowa edged Muskegon Reeths-Puffer 27-28 – Grand Rapids Press
Girls Golf
Macomb Lutheran North, No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 4, broke its school record for the second time this week, shooting 330 to win the Macomb County Golf Invitational; sophomore Serena Nguyen was the medalist at 77 – Macomb Daily
Boys Soccer
Midland edged Bay City Western 2-1 in Saginaw Valley League North play despite the 25th goal this season for the Warriors Ty Fulco – Bay City Times
Ortonville Brandon, No. 20 in Division 2, edged Flint Metro League foe Fenton 1-0 after a shootout; Brandon also beat Clio in a shootout Monday – Oakland Press
Petoskey’s 4-0 win over Elk Rapids was its sixth shutout in seven games and fourth straight; the Northmen are No. 14 in Division 2 – Petoskey News
Boys Tennis
Port Huron Northern, No. 8 in LP Division 1, downed St. Clair 6-2 to claim the MAC Red championship outright, its first league title since 2011 – Port Huron Times-Herald
Volleyball
Class C top-ranked Bronson downed Class D No. 5 Mendon in three sets in a matchup of two of southwest Michigan’s top teams – Sturgis Journal
Kent City, an honorable mention in Class C, downed No. 10 Morley-Stanwood in four sets to move into first place alone in the Central State Activities Association Silver – Big Rapids News
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