Today in the MHSAA: 1/18/18

January 18, 2018

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. Girls Basketball: Gaylord St. Mary won a matchup of Ski Valley Conference favorites and top Class D teams statewide, traveling to defeat Bellaire 41-39 – Gaylord Herald Times

2. Hockey: Detroit Catholic Central, top-ranked in Division 1, needed overtime but got past rival and Division 2 No. 5 Birmingham Brother Rice 3-2 – Oakland Press

3. Girls Basketball: Detroit Mumford held on after seeing a 15-point lead nearly dissolve, getting past Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 44-35 – Detroit News

4. Girls Basketball: Gladstone improved to 5-5 this season with a 42-33 upset of Marquette, which fell to 9-2 – Escanaba Daily Press

5. Hockey: Holland West Ottawa downed Grand Haven 4-2 for its ninth win over the last 10 games – Holland Sentinel

6. Bowling: Hudsonville swept Grand Haven in key Ottawa-Kent Conference Red matches, the boys narrowly 16-14 – Grand Haven Tribune

7. Wrestling: Division 2 No. 7 Stevensville Lakeshore ran its winning streak to 11 with a big victory over St. Joseph – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

8. Hockey: Division 2 No. 2 Hartland and Division 3 No. 7 Livonia Churchill tied 3-3, but the Eagles’ Jake Behnke made a tremendous statement with his play – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

9. Hockey: Riverview Gabriel Richard celebrated a 4-3 win over Dearborn Divine Child coming off some recent struggles against the Falcons – Southgate News Herald

10. Football: Battle Creek Harper Creek coach Mike Seedorff stepped down after leading his team to a 12-1 record in his 30th season in the program and third as head coach – Battle Creek Enquirer

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: From Tuesday, Gladstone came back from a two-point halftime deficit to beat Gwinn by 36, with junior Reece Castor scoring 26 points including the 1,000th of his career – Escanaba Daily Press

Flynn Wisdom (Escanaba Daily Press)

February 8, 2012

Dan Flynn impacted countless students, coaches and more during  four decades coaching at Escanaba High School and also a handful as a member of our MHSAA Representative Council. He retired from coaching Monday -- and through the Escanaba Daily Press' Denny Grall, passed on a number of points of wisdom he's picked up during his travels from growing up in Chicago to becoming one of the most recognized sports people not only in the Upper Peninsula, but in statewide high school circles.

A great excerpt from the story's first few paragraphs: "I was like a Sherman tank years ago. ... I came to understand that was not the way to get people going in the same direction. You say I've mellowed. I think I'm more compassionate."

There are many more throughout this great read. Click below to check it out.

Caring for kids was Flynn's priority