Today in the MHSAA: Soccer Semifinals
June 13, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The MHSAA Girls Soccer Finals will be played Friday and Saturday at Michigan State University’s DeMartin Stadium. Below is a sampling of coverage of how all eight finalists advanced.
Division 1: Top-ranked and reigning champion Novi will play for a repeat after getting past Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central in a shootout – Observer & Eccentric
Division 1: No. 5 Plymouth also advanced with a shootout after a late comeback to take No. 13 Troy to overtime – Observer & Eccentric
Division 2: No. 6 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern will play in its fourth straight Final thanks to a shootout win over No. 9 Marshall – FOX 17
Division 2: No. 2 Bloomfield Hills Marian is headed to the championship game for the third straight season after a 3-1 win over No. 11 Flint Powers Catholic – Observer & Eccentric
Division 3: No. 7 Essexville Garber will play in the championship game for the first time thanks to a 1-0 win over No. 2 Warren Regina – Bay City Times
Division 3: No. 5 Grand Rapids South Christian will play for its first title since 2013 after a 2-0 win over No. 8 Boyne City – Grand Rapids Press
Division 4: No. 2 Royal Oak Shrine continued its dominating run with a 6-0 win over No. 9 Saginaw Nouvel – State Champs Sports Network
Division 4: No. 3 Kalamazoo Christian upended top-ranked North Muskegon 1-0 – WWMT
Also of note …
Girls Soccer: Richland Gull Lake coach Jeff Corstange has stepped down after eight seasons, having led the team to three Division 2 championships – WWMT
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