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: 10/5/18

October 5, 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.

1. Girls Golf: Lower Peninsula Division 1 top-ranked Northville shot a 302 to win the Kensington Lakes Activities Association tournament for the first time since 2009 – Observer & Eccentric

2. Boys Tennis: Traverse City Central clinched its 13th straight Big North Conference championship, just ahead of LPD3 No. 7 Petoskey – Traverse City Record-Eagle

3. Girls Golf: LPD4 No. 3 Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian shot a 368 to edge reigning champ Spring Lake by four strokes and clinch the Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue title – Grand Haven Tribune

4. Girls Golf: Sturgis locked up its fourth straight Wolverine Conference title  Sturgis Journal

5. Boys Soccer: Division 4 top-ranked Muskegon Western Michigan Christian clinched the Lakes 8 Conference title with a 3-0 win over Muskegon Orchard View – Local Sports Journal

6. Boys Soccer: Division 4 No. 10 Royal Oak Shrine clinched the Detroit Catholic League Intersectional 2 championship with a big win over Clarkston Everest Collegiate – Oakland Press

7. Boys Soccer: Traverse City West downed Alpena and then claimed the Big North Conference title outright thanks to Traverse City Central’s tie with Cadillac – WPBN

8. Boys Soccer: Division 2 No. 4 East Lansing defeated Division 1 No. 7 Okemos 2-1 with a shootout to advance to the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup championship game – Lansing State Journal

9. Boys Soccer: Division 1 No. 2 Portage Central edged Portage Northern 1-0 to advance to the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference championship game – JoeInsider.com

10. Boys Soccer: Justin Raymond set a Gladwin single-season record with his 49th goal in the Division 3 No. 10 Flying Gs’ win over Clare – Midland Daily News

Also of note …

Volleyball: From Wednesday, Niles Brandywine swept Buchanan to repeat as Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference Red champion – Niles Daily Star

Boys soccer: From Wednesday, Division 2 No. 5 Fenton clinched the Flint Metro League title with a win over Swartz Creek – WJRT

Boys Tennis: Jarrett Kelley set the Chesaning career wins record with his 90th in a team victory over Ortonville Brandon – Owosso Argus-Press