Today in the MHSAA: 11/11/15

November 11, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Volleyball Regional Semifinals were the matches of the day Tuesday, and while all were noteworthy, below is a sampling of some that especially stuck out.

Volleyball

In one of the biggest matchups of the Regional Semifinals, Class A No. 3 Grand Rapids Christian swept No. 5 Grand Haven – Grand Rapids Press

In another match of Class A powers, reigning champion and No. 6 Romeo downed No. 4 Lake Orion in five sets; Gia Milana’s 40 kills tied the fourth-most in MHSAA history – Macomb Daily

No. 10 DeWitt reached its first Regional Final as a Class A team with a sweep of Richland Gull Lake – MLive-Lansing

Class A honorable mention Utica Eisenhower needed a fifth set to down Fenton, which finished 40-12-7 – Flint Journal

Class B No. 4 Battle Creek Harper Creek ended a record-setting season for honorable mention Buchanan – Battle Creek Enquirer

Honorable mention Marysville took down No. 6 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in four sets in a key Class B matchup – Port Huron Times-Herald

No. 9 Schoolcraft justified its slight ranking above No. 10 Kalamazoo Christian with a 3-1 win in Class C after falling to Christian 3-1 only a month ago – Kalamazoo Gazette

Unranked Unionville-Sebewaing swept honorable mention Saginaw Valley Lutheran in Class C – Saginaw News

Class D top-ranked Plymouth Christian eliminated No. 6 Waterford Our Lady in three sets, improving to 32-5-1 – 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