Today in the MHSAA: 9/9/15
September 9, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The first day of school for most in Michigan brought with it a flood of notable matchups and results, many of which we’ve touched on below.
Boys Soccer
East Grand Rapids, No. 11 in Division 2, topped Division 1 No. 4 East Kentwood 1-0 in a matchup of two of the best in the Grand Rapids area – Grand Rapids Press
Walled Lake Central handed Waterford Mott the latter's first loss this season, scoring with 26:24 to play – Oakland Press
North Muskegon, ranked in Division 4, needed overtime to outlast Ravenna 3-2 – Muskegon Chronicle
Girls Swimming & Diving
Saginaw Heritage beat Midland Dow for the first time since 2010 with first places in 10 events – Saginaw News
Holland West Ottawa, No. 4 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, beat No. 6 Zeeland by a mere 16 points, with Jacklyn Vande Poel earning a Finals cut time in the 100-yard freestyle – Holland Sentinel
Volleyball
Mattawan claimed the championship over a strong field at Portage Central’s six-team tournament, besting previously-undefeated Battle Creek Harper Creek in the final – Kalamazoo Gazette
It’s hard to imagine a closer four-set match than Houghton’s win over Lake Linden-Hubbell 25-23, 25-23, 23-25, 25-22 – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
Midland Dow’s Nadia Atton had an impressive 23 kills to lead the Chargers past Mount Pleasant in four sets – Midland Daily News
Today in the MHSAA: 2/8/16
February 8, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The weekend provided previews of MHSAA championship contenders in gymnastics, cheer and hockey, and also basketball with a matchup of two girls teams that could come away from this winter with titles and the reigning Class D boys champ shining again.
Girl Basketball
A last-second 3-pointer by Lauryn Carroll gave Ypsilanti Arbor Prep a 50-47 win over previously-undefeated Bay City John Glenn, considered arguably the top team in the state regardless of class – Bay City Times
Detroit Country Day edged Southfield-Lathrup 56-52 in a matchup of contenders in Class B and A, respectively – Oakland Press
Mona Shores locked down the usually-potent offense of rival Muskegon in defeating the Big Reds 55-34 – Muskegon Chronicle
Boys Basketball
Reigning Class D champion Powers North Central remained undefeated by handing a first loss to Crystal Falls Forest Park, 68-54 – Escanaba Daily Press
Southfield Christian just edged Belleville 70-69 for its 12th straight win – MLive-Detroit
Competitive Cheer
Reigning Division 1 champion Rochester finished ahead of a strong field to clinch the Oakland Activities Association Red championship – Oakland Press
Gymnastics
Rockford/Sparta, the reigning MHSAA champion, showed it’s the team to beat again this winter by claiming the championship at the prestigious Canton Invitational. Howell finished second and Farmington third – Canton Athletics
Hockey
The Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League Showcase pitted many of the state’s top teams with some of the key results a 3-0 win by Division 2 No. 3 Livonia Stevenson over Division 3 No. 1 Grand Rapids Catholic Central and 4-3 by unranked Houghton over Division 1 No. 3 Detroit U-D Jesuit – MIHL
Swimming & Diving
Warren DeLaSalle’s boys won their fourth straight Macomb County Invitational, finishing more than 300 points ahead of the field – Macomb Daily
Wrestling
Springport won its seventh straight Big 8 Conference championship, setting a league record in dominating its competition this time – Jackson Citizen-Patriot
Allegan won its 12th straight Wolverine Conference title, finishing far ahead of the field and with three individual champions – Kalamazoo Gazette
Niles finished its championship run in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Good Read
Former opponents no doubt remember facing Marshall basketball standout Kari Searles on the court; many who supported her as a player supported her again Friday with a donation toward her care as she fights lung cancer – Battle Creek Enquirer