Today in the MHSAA: 10/30/15

October 30, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Thursday’s Boys Soccer Regionals saw another reigning champion and one more top-ranked team fall, and two of the top small-school volleyball teams in the state matched up as that regular-season for that sport rolled toward a close.

Boys Soccer

Division 1 No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central shut out No. 10 Portage Northern to move to 21-0-3 – Grand Rapids Press

Division 2 No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern downed No. 5 and reigning champion East Lansing in a shootout – Grand Rapids Press

Williamston, No. 3 in Division 3, eliminated top-ranked Flint Powers Catholic from the MHSAA Tournament for the second straight season – Lansing State Journal

No. 2 Grand Rapids South Christian earned a trip to the Division 3 Semifinals with a 1-0 win over No. 7 Paw Paw – Grand Rapids Press

No. 4 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood reached the Division 2 Semifinals with a 1-0 win over No. 18 Ortonville-Brandon – Oakland Press

Division 4 No. 7 Kalamazoo Hackett scored twice during the second half to get past No. 10 Hartford – Kalamazoo Gazette

Volleyball

Class C No. 1 Bronson closed the regular season with three-set wins over Class D No. 2 Battle Creek St. Philip and Sturgis – Sturgis Journal

Whitehall finished 3-0 at the West Michigan Conference tournament to claim its eighth straight league title, with a little help from Shelby, which eliminated Class C No. 4 Montague – Muskegon Chronicle

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