Today in the MHSAA: 10/21/15
October 21, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
League cross country finals and the second day of the Lower Peninsula boys soccer tournament dominated headlines as teams celebrated and continued to push toward next month’s MHSAA Finals.
Cross Country
The unranked Quincy girls won the Big 8 Conference final ahead of Lower Peninsula Division 4 No. 8 Concord. Concord’s boys won their race – Coldwater Daily Reporter
The Traverse City Central girls, No. 6 in LPD1, and the West boys who are No. 12, won the Big North Conference championships races – Traverse City Record-Eagle
The Otsego girls, No. 2 in LPD2, won their third straight Wolverine Conference championship while the No. 10-ranked boys also won – Kalamazoo Gazette
The Shepherd boys, No. 4 in LPD3, and the No. 5 girls swept the Tri-Valley Conference titles – the girls ahead of No. 3 Ithaca – Saginaw News
Boys Soccer
Two of the best from the Grand Rapids area met in a Division 1 opener, with No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central outlasting No. 12 East Kentwood 3-2 – Grand Rapids Press
Warren DeLaSalle scored in the final seconds of overtime to edge St. Clair Shores Lakeview 2-1 in a Division 1 game – Oakland Press
Midland Dow avenged its only Saginaw Valley League North loss by downing champion Saginaw Heritage 3-0 in a Division 1 opener – Midland Daily News
Division 1 No. 16 Grand Haven headed home the winning goal in overtime to survive Jenison in their opener – Muskegon Chronicle
Unranked Birmingham Seaholm won its first district game since 2011, and did so against No. 18 Birmingham Brother Rice, 2-1 – Oakland Press
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