Today in the MHSAA: 10/22/15

October 22, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Some of the state’s dominant cross country programs finished off their league seasons in sweeping fashion Wednesday, while the Lower Peninsula soccer tournament continued through half of its semifinals.

Cross Country

Sand Creek swept the Tri-County Conference championship meets, in both cases finishing ahead of runner-up Adrian Madison. Sand Creek’s boys are ranked No. 12 in Lower Peninsula Division 4 – Adrian Daily Telegram

Hanover-Horton’s ranked teams swept the Cascades Conference meets, with the No. 3 in LPD3 boys winning for the ninth time in 12 years and the No. 10-ranked girls winning for the 16th straight season – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Clare’s No. 9-ranked girls and No. 11-ranked boys (in LPD3) swept Jack Pine Conference titles, the girls winning their sixth in a row and the boys their eighth – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

The Northville girls, No. 1 in LPD1, won their sixth straight Kensington Lakes Activities Association Kensington title, while the No. 3 Novi boys edged No. 2 Northville by seven points to claim their crown – Oakland Press

Boys soccer

Fruitport’s Noah Hendricks set a school record for goals in a season with 38, scoring in his 15th consecutive game to lead the No. 9 Trojans to a 7-0 district win over Allendale in Division 2 – Muskegon Chronicle

Division 3 No. 9 Whitehall scored an overtime goal to get past unranked Shelby in a district semifinal – Muskegon Chronicle

Division 2 No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern survived No. 17 Grand Rapids Northview, 2-1 in their district semifinal – Grand Rapids Press

Volleyball

Manistique remained undefeated in dual matches this season with a five-set victory over Escanaba on the Eskymos’ parents night – Escanaba Daily 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