Today in the MHSAA: 10/19/15

October 19, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The first MHSAA Lower Peninsula championships of 2015-16 were awarded in girls golf and boys tennis this weekend. Find links to Second Half coverage of those, plus reports from a handful of other significant events that took place around the state.

Cross Country

The Hudson boys, ranked No. 9 in Lower Peninsula Division 4, won the Lenawee County championship Saturday as its combined finishes were one hundredth of a second faster than runner-up Adrian’s – Adrian Daily Telegram

The Utica Eisenhower girls improved from second last season to first in winning the Macomb County Invitational – Macomb Daily

Girls Golf 

Traverse City West won its first MHSAA title, Birmingham Seaholm won its third straight and Spring Lake and Kalamazoo Hackett were repeat champions at the Lower Peninsula Finals – Second Half

Boys Tennis

Novi and Bloomfield Hills shared the LP Division 1 title, Portage Central and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central shared in Division 2, and powers Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and Ann Arbor Greenhills also claimed championships – Second Half 

Volleyball

Class B No. 4 Battle Creek Harper Creek downed Class D No. 1 Battle Creek St. Philip in two sets to repeat as Battle Creek All-City champion – Battle Creek Enquirer

Crystal Falls Forest Park, an honorable mention in Class D, won the first Skyline Central Conference tournament in two sets over Munising – Iron Mountain Daily News

Adrian defeated Tecumseh in the final of the 35th Lenawee County Tournament after entering bracket play as the second seed – Adrian Daily Telegram

Today in the MHSAA: 12/10/15

December 10, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Wednesday was the first day of winter in full swing with significant matchups coming in six sports as four got into the heart of their first week of the season. Be sure to check out as well a story on MHSAA officials recruiting efforts.

Girls Basketball

Traverse City St. Francis won an early battle between two of the north’s top small-school teams, downing Frankfort (featured today on Second Half) 76-72 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

A pair of Concord players filled the stat sheet in a 62-56 win over Michigan Center; senior Lindsey Lehmen led with 24 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals, and sophomore Camryn Ward grabbed 19 rebounds – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Boys Basketball

From Tuesday, Sanford Meridian freshman Lucas Lueder will be among first-year players to watch, if his 18 points in a 65-61 win over Saginaw Nouvel are an indication – Midland Daily News

Boys Bowling

Vandercook Lake could be in line for an exciting season or four after watching freshmen Korey Reichard (278) and Conner Lackey (267) lead the way in a 29-1 win over Grass Lake – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Ice Hockey

Division 3 No. 10 Farmington’s two first-period goals were enough as the Falcons scored a key early-season win over Division 2 No. 4 Berkley – Oakland Press

After finishing regulation tied, Division 2 No. 9 Traverse City Central needed only 14 seconds of overtime to get past Cadillac 4-3 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Boys Swimming & Diving

Chelsea coach Dave Jolly was the mid-Michigan link to Wednesday’s Waverly Relays, the annual event for Lansing-area teams to kick off the season; his Lower Peninsula Division 3 No. 3-ranked team broke Okemos’ five-year hold on the meet championship – Lansing State Journal

Wrestling

No. 3 Davison earned one of the most significant early wins so far this season, 45-27 over No. 4 Brighton, which beat Davison in the Division 1 Semifinals last season – Livingston Daily

Saginaw Swan Valley, No. 8 in Division 3, just escaped Essexville Garber for a 32-30 win – Saginaw News

Good Read

After more than five decades as an official, Dick Kalahar is watching from the stands this season. He is among a growing number of retiring officials the MHSAA is charged with replacing over the next few years, and this piece looks at some of the challenges and opportunities, in part through Kalahar’s eyes – Jackson Citizen-Patriot