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

Today in the MHSAA: 5/13/19

May 13, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Michigan high school teams are reaching postseason form, as the weekend was filled with league championships in a variety of sports, big time matchups in a few others plus a series of record book-worthy performances.

1. Track & Field: The Zeeland East girls and Zeeland West boys won O-K Green league meet titles; both are ranked No. 1 in LPD2 – Holland Sentinel Girls | Boys

2. Girls Tennis: Rockford, No. 9 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, scored four more points than No. 6 Holland West Ottawa at the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red tournament to create a shared league title between the ranked programs – Holland Sentinel

3. Boys Lacrosse: Birmingham Brother Rice got past rival Detroit Catholic Central 16-12 to win the Detroit Catholic League tournament final; they were ranked Nos. 1 and 4, respectively, in Division 1 entering the week – Oakland Press

4. Softball: Division 3 No. 1 Millington scored a 3-0 win over Division 2 top-ranked Escanaba at the Eskymos’ invitational – Escanaba Daily Press

5. Track & Field: The Saline boys won their ninth straight Southeastern Conference Red title on the league meet’s final event, while Ann Arbor Pioneer won the girls championship – Saline Post Boys | Girls

6. Girls Soccer: Division 1 No. 3 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek downed No. 2 Midland 1-0, handing the Chemics their first loss – Midland Daily News

7. Softball: Division 1 No. 9 Hartland won the South Lyon quad, with a 1-0 win over the host and No. 4-ranked Lions – State Champs Sports Network

8. Girls Tennis: LPD1 No. 1 Grosse Pointe South earned a 6-2 win over No. 4 Midland Dow, which earned victories over No. 7 Troy and LPD2 No. 5 Holly at the GPS quad – Midland Daily News

9. Girls Tennis: Fruitport locked up its third straight O-K Black championship – Grand Haven Tribune

10. Track & Field: Milford completed a sweep of Lakes Valley Conference meet championships – Oakland Press

Also of note …

Girls Tennis: Ludington finished a sweep of Lakes 8 Conference championships by winning the league tournament – Ludington Daily News

Track & Field: The Otsego boys and Vicksburg girls won Wolverine Conference meet championships – JoeInsider.com

Track & Field: The Spring Lake girls earned a shared O-K Blue title with a league meet win, while Allendale’s boys won their side of the meet – Grand Haven Tribune

Track & Field: The Brighton boys and Northville girls won Kensington Lakes Activities Association meet championships – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Softball: Frankfort’s Natalie Bigley hit five home runs over a double-header sweep of Bellaire, including three straight in the second game – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Baseball: Sanford Meridian’s Hunter Merillat had two doubles during a loss to Pinconning to reach 68 for his career, tying the MHSAA record – Midland Daily News

Track & Field: Coldwater thrower Dylan Targgart tossed the shot 65-9 at the Williamston Invitational, a distance that would break the LPD2 Finals record – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Baseball: Division 1 No. 17 Grand Ledge swept DeWitt, sending coach Pat O’Keefe past 1,300 career wins – Lansing State Journal

Track & Field: Definitely worth watching is Texas high school sprinter Matthew Boling setting a national record in the 100 meters at Saturday’s UIL meet with a time of 10.13 seconds – Corpus Christi Caller Times