Today in the MHSAA: 11/30/16

November 30, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Although a handful of teams kicked off girls basketball season Monday, the majority took the court for the first time Tuesday – and wasted little time delivering dramatic finishes and a look at some of what we can expect this winter.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Girls Basketball

Otsego, which won 20 games last season, opened with a nail-biting 33-31 victory over Portage Northern – Kalamazoo Gazette

Jordan Walker scored 33 points as Muskegon Mona Shores downed Grand Rapids Catholic Central 59-52 in a matchup of expected state contenders – Grand Rapids Press

Beecher came back in the fourth quarter to force overtime, but Flint Southwestern emerged with a 42-41 victory – Flint Journal

Reigning Class B runner-up Grand Rapids South Christian also started with a close win, 38-35 over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern – Grand Rapids Press

In another low-scoring opener, Bay City Central just edged Traverse City West 32-31 – Bay City Times

Frankenmuth came back from an 11-point deficit to edge Bullock Creek 40-38 – Saginaw News

Lansing Catholic trailed Perry by six points at halftime but came on to win by 28, 56-28 – Lansing State Journal

Charlevoix freshman Elise Stuck had 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead her team to a 43-39 win over Petoskey – Petoskey News Review

Belding’s Hallee Breimayer put up 32 points in her team’s 57-52 win over reigning Greater Lansing Activities Conference champion Lake Odessa Lakewood – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Edwardsburg, coming off a District title last season, survived a 37-32 opener against Niles – South Bend Tribune

Southfield Arts & Technology won its first game since the merger of Southfield and Southfield-Lathrup this fall, 64-43 over Birmingham Groves – Oakland Press

Ice Hockey

Hancock continued another strong start with a 5-0 defeat of rival Houghton – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Softball

Gladstone coach Ashley Hughes, who led the Braves to the Division 3 championship in her first season in 2014 and the Semifinals this spring, has resigned amid sad circumstances – Escanaba Daily Press

Today in the MHSAA: 9/12/17

September 12, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

Today's Top 10

1. Football: Saranac coach Andy Lytle, also a first sergeant in the Michigan Army National Guard, has left his team for deployment to Florida to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

2. Girls Swimming & Diving: Longtime West Bloomfield coach John Burch will be the namesake of that school’s natatorium, and he’s continuing to coach for the South Lyon Unified co-op team although he’s been fighting pancreatic cancer for a year – Observer & Eccentric

3. Boys Tennis: Bloomfield Hills’ Andrew Zhang is one of the most highly-regarded junior players in the country, and also is lending his talents to his high school team again this fall after helping the Black Hawks to a shared 2015 LP Division 1 title and 2016 runner-up finish – Observer & Eccentric

4. Boys Soccer: Leland moved to 10-0 by handing Buckley its first loss of the season; Leland is ranked No. 3 in Division 4 – Traverse City St. Francis

5. Girls Tennis: Undefeated Negaunee got its toughest test so far this season, but moved to 8-0 with a 5-3 win over Marquette – Marquette Mining Journal

6. Boys Soccer: Grosse Ile moved to 12-0 this season by handing New Boston Huron its first loss – Southgate News Herald

7. Boys Soccer: Lincoln Alcona’s Jordan Steiner set a school record and earned a spot in the MHSAA record book with eight goals in a win over Whittemore-Prescott – Alpena News

8. Girls Golf: Sturgis shot a 182, its sixth-best nine-hole score ever, to win its sixth straight Wolverine Conference jamboree – Sturgis Journal

9. Boys Soccer: Ovid-Elsie earned its fifth shutout in six games, this time locking down Chesaning – Owosso Argus-Press

10. Girls Golf: LP Division 3 No. 8 Spring Lake extended its Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue lead by shooting a 164 to win Monday’s jamboree by 23 – Grand Haven Tribune

Also of note:

Girls Swimming & Diving: Brighton, No. 7 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, earned a 94-92 win over No. 6 Northville last week and then finished second to No. 2 Farmington Hills Mercy at the Fenton Relays over the weekend – Livingston Daily Press & Argus