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: 5/9/19

May 9, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Tennis, track & field and lacrosse teams continued to close out league titles Wednesday as those three sports approach the starts of their MHSAA postseasons next week.

1. Girls Tennis: Holland West Ottawa, No. 7 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, edged No. 6 Rockford to lock up half of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red championship – Holland Sentinel

2. Girls Soccer: Division 1 No. 2 Midland finished a perfect run through the Saginaw Valley League North with a 2-1 win over rival Dow – Midland Daily News

3. Girls Soccer: With a 1-1 draw against Division 2 No. 3 Richland Gull Lake, Portage Central locked up the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference regular-season title – WWMT

4. Girls Tennis: LPD3 No. 6 Grand Rapids Catholic Central downed Spring Lake to clinch half the title in the O-K Blue – Grand Rapids Press

5. Track & Field: The LPD4 top-ranked Pittsford girls and No. 6 Hillsdale Academy boys repeated as Southern Central Athletic Association East champions – Hillsdale Daily News

6. Boys Lacrosse: Hartland, No. 5 in Division 1 entering the week, downed Plymouth 14-5 in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association title game – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

7. Baseball: Division 2 No. 14 Essexville Garber scored a sweep of Division 3 No. 19 Pinconning, 3-0 and 6-2 – Bay City Times

8. Boys Golf: LPD2 No. 3 Gaylord continued to surge with a win at the Big North Invitational, shooting a 323 – Gaylord Herald Times

9. Boys Lacrosse: Traverse City United followed up an earlier one-goal win over Petoskey with an 11-10 overtime victory in the rematch – MI Sports Now

10. Boys Golf: Spring Lake shot a 159 to maintain first place in the O-K Blue with a nine-stroke league win – Grand Haven Tribune

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: Coach Jacob Polfus stepped down with a 169-75 record after 11 seasons leading Carney-Nadeau, including guiding a trip to the Class D Semifinals in 2012 – Escanaba Daily Press