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: 1/29/19

January 29, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The Lower Peninsula was snowed out Tuesday, but the Upper Peninsula played on and nearly filled out today’s list with all of the coverage we could find – plus a pair of neat feature stories we included as well.

1. Girls Basketball: Riley Poupore scored 35 points to lead Iron Mountain past Ishpeming 59-48 – The Upbeat

2. Boys Basketball: Dollar Bay pulled away during the closing seconds of a 48-46 win over Ewen-Trout Creek – The Upbeat

3. Girls Basketball: Iron River West Iron County came back from a halftime deficit to edge Kingsford 39-38 – Iron Mountain Daily News

4. Girls Basketball: Baraga edged Chassell 42-39 – The Upbeat

5. Boys Basketball: Hancock downed Calumet 41-35 in overtime – The Upbeat

6. Boys Basketball: Kingsford made 62 percent of its shots from the floor in a 77-53 win over Norway – Iron Mountain Daily News

7. Girls Basketball: Munising took a big early lead and held on for a 48-32 win over Big Bay de Noc – Escanaba Daily Press

8. Girls Basketball: Felch North Dickinson also got out to a sizable first-half advantage on the way to a big win over Eben Junction Superior Central – Escanaba Daily Press

9. Boys Basketball: Bessemer fell just short of Hurley, Wis., 48-46 – The Upbeat

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: Frankfort would not play Buckley 5-on-4 to finish its Jan. 18 game – instead opting to equal things out – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Football/Basketball: Few small towns have enjoyed the level of success in these sports of late as Pewamo-Westphalia, and this series of anecdotes tells a lot of the community’s story – Lansing State Journal