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: 5/22/18

May 22, 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 Soccer: Division 4 top-ranked North Muskegon ran its record to 16-0 and its overall scoring advantage to 129-0 this spring with an 8-0 win over Ravenna in the West Michigan Conference semifinals – Muskegon Chronicle

2. Girls Soccer: Alma secured the Tri-Valley Conference Central title with a 7-1 win over Ovid-Elsie as Tia Everdeen became the first in program history to score 100 goals – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

3. Boys Golf: Pentwater won the West Michigan D League postseason tournament by a stroke to finish first overall in the league – Manistee News Advocate

4. Softball: Warren Regina came back to edge Farmington Hills Mercy 5-4 in the Detroit Catholic League A-B championship game – Detroit News

5. Girls Soccer: Division 1 No. 18 Rochester Adams downed Rochester 2-0 to clinch an outright Oakland Activities Association Red championship – Oakland Press

6. Boys Golf: Bad Axe won the final Greater Thumb Conference event of the spring by four strokes to create a shared title in the GTC West with Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker – Huron Daily Tribune

7. Baseball/Softball: The Hillman baseball and Division 4 honorable mention Onaway softball teams finished their league title runs undefeated in their respective conferences with two more wins apiece – Alpena News

8. Girls Soccer: Grace VerHage scored her 99th and 100th career goals as Otsego downed Plainwell to stay undefeated in the Wolverine Conference – WWMT

9. Track & Field: The Johannesburg-Lewiston girls and Mancelona boys clinched Ski Valley Conference championships – Traverse City Record-Eagle

10. Softball: Division 3 honorable mention Boyne City swept Charlevoix to earn a share of the Lake Michigan Conference title – Petoskey News-Review

Also of note …

Officials: The MHSAA always is working to recruit and retain officials, and WNEM addressed some of the challenges – WNEM