Did you see that? (June 3-9)

June 10, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The second of three weeks of spring MHSAA Finals came to a close with four more champions from lacrosse – plus 16 teams still alive in both baseball and softball, eight in girls soccer and 60 in Lower Peninsula boys golf.

See below for some of the biggest headlines from the week that was June 3-9.

Girls lacrosse

Champions of the west: A pair of Grand Rapids-area teams claimed the girls championships Saturday. Rockford defeated Bloomfield Hills United 16-7 in Division 1, while East Grand Rapids repeated in Division 2 with a 16-6 victory over Livonia Ladywood. (Second Half D1) (Second Half D2)

Boys Lacrosse

East-side excellence: Birmingham Brother Rice came back from an early deficit in the Division 1 Final to win its ninth-straight title by beating Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern 14-10. In Division 2, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood scored with 20.2 seconds to play to edge reigning champion Forest Hills Central 10-9. (Second Half D1) (Second Half D2)

Girls Soccer

Defensive standoff: Top-ranked Plymouth and No. 3 Novi needed a shootout to decide Friday’s Division 1 Regional Final. But Novi won that final round 2-1 to earn a 1-0 win and hand Plymouth its first and only loss this season. (MLive Detroit)

Powers survives comeback: Up 3-0 at halftime, reigning Division 3 runner-up Flint Powers Catholic advanced to within one win of returning to the Finals with a 3-2 Regional Final win over Lake Fenton. (Flint Journal)

Baseball

Oilers upend No. 1: Mount Pleasant, ranked No. 4 in Division 2, beat top-ranked Bay City John Glenn on the way to winning their Regional on Saturday. (Mount Pleasant Morning Sun)

MCC wins big: Muskegon Catholic Central moved on in Division 4 with a 9-0 Regional win over No. 2 Gobles in another of the weekend’s biggest baseball matchups. MCC entered the postseason ranked No. 5. (Muskegon Chronicle)

Softball

Dundee gets its chance: The Vikings won their first Regional championship and defeated two-time reigning Division 3 champion Clinton in the process Saturday at Blissfield. Dundee entered the postseason ranked No. 1 in the division. (Monroe Evening News)

Romeo prevails in pair of nail-biters: The No. 10-ranked Bulldogs were down to their final out before defeating Troy in a Regional Semifinal and then beat Hartland 3-0 in the championship game. Both Troy and Hartland were honorable mentions in the final Division 1 coaches poll. (Oakland Press)

Escanaba headed downstate: The Eskymos will face reigning MHSAA Division 2 runner-up Saginaw Swan Valley in a Quarterfinal for the second straight season thanks to a walk-off home run by sophomore Michelle LaFave in a 5-4 Regional Final win over Remus Chippewa Hills. (Escanaba Daily Press)

Boys Golf

SMAC East dominates: Top-ranked Battle Creek Lakeview in Division 1 and Marshall and Battle Creek Harper Creek in Division 2 all qualified for LP Finals, giving the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East three teams in this weekend’s championship tournaments. (Battle Creek Enquirer)

DeWitt outshoots No. 1: Previously unranked DeWitt shot a 313 to edge top-ranked East Lansing by a stroke at their Division 2 Regional at Gull Lake View. (Lansing State Journal)

Boys Basketball

CMU star takes over GRCC: Former Central Michigan University captain T.J. Meerman has taken over the Grand Rapids Catholic Central program after serving as an assistant coach last season at Grand Valley State University. Previously, Meerman coached the varsity at Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills. (Grand Rapids Press)

Today in the MHSAA: 9/21/23

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

September 21, 2023

1. GIRLS GOLF Macomb Lutheran North – No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – won its fourth-straight Macomb County championship, with senior Lauren Timpf the medalist for the third-straight season – Macomb Daily

2. BOYS SOCCER Division 2 No. 2 Holland Christian clinched the Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue regular-season championship with a 3-0 win over Division 3 top-ranked Hudsonville Unity Christian – FOX17

3. BOYS SOCCER Big Rapids clinched a share of the Central State Activities Association title with a 3-1 win over Howard City Tri County – Big Rapids Pioneer

4. BOYS SOCCER Division 3 No. 2 Detroit Country Day downed No. 5 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 2-0 – Oakland Press

5. BOYS SOCCER Division 3 No. 8 Grosse Ile won another matchup of ranked teams, 1-0 over No. 9 Milan – Southgate News-Herald

6. VOLLEYBALL Gladwin defeated Sanford Meridian in a matchup of Jack Pine Conference leaders – Midland Daily News

7. GIRLS GOLF LPD4 No. 10 Traverse City St. Francis carded a 398 to win the Charlevoix Rayder Invitational – Traverse City Record-Eagle

8. GIRLS GOLF After finishing runner-up at its first three league jamborees, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer won one for the first time in five years in the O-K Green – Local Sports Journal

9. BOYS SOCCER Cadex Saxton and Tony Romero both scored four goals as Flint Kearsley downed Owosso – Mid-Michigan Now

10. VOLLEYBALL Stevensville Lakeshore won its Dig Pink match with St. Joseph in four sets – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Also of note …

BOYS BASKETBALL The Ecorse community is mourning the death of three-sport standout Dennell Kemp Jr., who was especially instrumental in the boys basketball team's successes the last two seasons and was expected to play Division I college baseball after graduation – MLIVE-Detroit

TENNIS Salem is mourning the death of longtime coach Bill Nelson, who led the Rocks for 28 years and then continued as an assistant – Hometown Life

FOOTBALL Zeeland is mourning the death of longtime athletic director Stan Jesky, who also served as football coach and was instrumental in the reorganization when Zeeland split into two high schools – Holland Sentinel