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: 4/27/18
April 27, 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. Softball: Division 3 top-ranked Clinton and unranked Adrian Madison both handed the other its first loss in a doubleheader split – Adrian Daily Telegram
2. Track & Field: Rapid River’s boys and Escanaba’s girls won Delta County Invitational titles, Escanaba for the seventh straight season (not counting last year’s meet being canceled) – Escanaba Daily Press
3. Baseball: Unranked Cass City scored a combined 22 runs in a sweep of Division 4 No. 3 Unionville-Sebewaing – Huron Daily Tribune
4. Track & Field: For the second straight meet, Hamilton’s Trevor Blood broke the school pole vault record, this time going 14-2 in a win over Hudsonville Unity Christian – Holland Sentinel
5. Girls Soccer: Division 1 No. 14 Saline scored with less than two minutes to play to edge Pinckney 1-0 – Saline Post
6. Girls Soccer: Callie Rich and Division 1 No. 4 Novi shut out Plymouth 1-0 to improve to 6-1-1 – Observer & Eccentric
7. Girls Soccer: Division 1 No. 3 Walled Lake Northern improved to 10-0 with a 7-0 win over Waterford Kettering – Detroit News
8. Girls soccer: Maya Dean has had a foot in every Traverse City West goal this season and helped the Titans past Traverse City Central 3-2 on Thursday – Traverse City Record Eagle
9. Softball: Grand Haven earned a 6-1 win over Rockford, last season’s Ottawa-Kent Conference Red champion – Grand Haven Tribune
10. Football: Jerry Diorio, most recently an assistant at Benton Harbor after previously leading Wayland to four playoff appearances, has been hired as Battle Creek Lakeview’s next coach – Battle Creek Enquirer
Also of note …
Hockey: Chelsea coach Don Wright has retired with a 304-146-35 record after 18 seasons and after leading the team to the Division 3 Quarterfinals this winter – Sun Times News