Today in the MHSAA: 10/8/15

October 8, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The start of the Lower Peninsula Girls Golf Tournament included plenty of highlights to top an eventful Wednesday statewide.

Girls Golf

Lower Peninsula Division 2 No. 8 Muskegon Mona Shores won the MHSAA Regional at Thornapple Pointe Golf Club, but Reeths-Puffer freshman Karina VanDuinen also was exceptional going under par to finish first individually – Muskegon Chronicle

LP Division 2 top-ranked Midland Dow tied No. 6 Flushing at 340 and won the Regional title on the fifth-golfer tie-breaker – Saginaw News

Frankenmuth, No. 4 in LP Division 4, won its first Regional title and just ahead of No. 5 Freeland – Saginaw News

New Boston Huron qualified for the MHSAA Finals for the first time in this sport by finishing third at Monroe Country Club – Mlive-Detroit

Boys Soccer

Division 2 top-ranked Holland Christian and Division 3 No. 6 Hudsonville Unity Christian played to a 3-3 tie that made both 6-0-2 in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green – Holland Sentinel

Unranked Tecumseh is 6-4-4 but unbeaten in eight straight after tying Division 2 No. 12 Dexter – Adrian Daily Telegram

Unranked Buckley, a solid 13-2, upset Division 4 No. 3 Leland 2-1. Buckley hadn’t beaten Leland in boys soccer since 2003 – Cadillac News

Division 3 No. 10 Gladwin capped its Northern Michigan Soccer League schedule with another win to finish with a conference record of 10-0 – Midland Daily News

Volleyball

Unranked Mason, a Class A quarterfinalist a year ago, downed No. 10 DeWitt in five sets to create a two-team tie atop the Capital Area Activities Conference Red standings – Lansing State Journal

Good Reads

Coldwater will host its first swimming and diving meet tonight thanks to a $15 million dollar donation that paid for a new aquatic center and was given in honor of the school’s Class of 1942 by one of its members – Battle Creek Enquirer

Farmington Hills Harrison football is 5-1 under longtime coach John Herrington in what might be the final season of the school and despite the transfers of two players before the start of practice – Detroit News

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