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: 9/24/18

September 24, 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. Cross Country: The Salem girls, No. 4 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, and No. 12 Clarkston boys won Jackson Invitational titles ahead of fields loaded with top-ranked teams – Observer & Eccentric

2. Cross Country: Two runners broke the school record as Brighton’s top-ranked LPD1 boys won the Monroe Jefferson Invitational Division 1 race; the Bulldogs swept championships as the No. 10 girls team won in a tie-breaker – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

3. Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD2 No. 6 Midland Dow won the Tri-Cities Invitational for the eighth straight season – Midland Daily News

4. Boys Tennis: Traverse City Central won its Great Lakes quad with wins over Rochester, LPD4 No. 8 Ludington and Midland, and with Chase Berden winning his 100th match – Traverse City Record-Eagle

5. Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD3 No. 5 Milan won the D3 Midseason Invitational ahead of a number of contenders in that division – Holland Sentinel

6. Boys Tennis: Unranked Petoskey made its bid for the polls with a big win over LPD3 No. 9 Haslett and close loss to No. 6 Parma Western – Petoskey News-Review

7. Boys Soccer: Boyne City extended its winning streak to eight with a three-game sweep at the Clare Invitational – Petoskey News-Review

8. Volleyball: Hudson improved to 19-6-3 with six wins and a tie in claiming the Morenci Invitational – Adrian Daily Telegram

9. Boys Soccer: Alpena outscored its opponents 14-1 to win its Huron Shores Invitational – Alpena News

10. Cross Country: Petoskey’s teams dominated their invitational in sweeping championships; the girls are ranked No. 5 in LPD2 – Petoskey News-Review

Also of note …

Boys Soccer: From Thursday, Goodrich downed previously-undefeated and Division 4 top-ranked Burton Genesee Christian to earn a share of the Genesee Area Conference championship – WJRT