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: 10/12/17

October 12, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

Today's Top 10

1. Girls Golf: For the first time in 36 years, Sturgis won a Regional in this sport, claiming its Lower Peninsula Division 2 tournament by 21 strokes – Sturgis Journal

2. Boys Soccer: Division 1 No. 5 Detroit Catholic Central shut out Division 2 No. 3 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 4-0 to win the Detroit Catholic League A-B championship – Observer & Eccentric

3. Boys Soccer: Division 1 No. 9 Northville won its first boys soccer championship in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association with a 1-0 victory over No. 12 Plymouth – Observer & Eccentric

4. Boys Soccer: Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard got past Madison Heights Bishop Foley 4-1 to earn its first Catholic League C-D title in the sport – Oakland Press

5. Cross Country: Ithaca’s boys and girls teams finished a sweep of Tri-Valley Conference West jamborees to claim league titles; the boys team is No. 14 in LPD3 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

6. Cross Country: Shepherd did the same as Ithaca but in the TVC Central, with both teams sweeping all three jamborees to earn conference championships; the girls are ranked No. 9 in LPD3, and the boys are No. 11 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

7. Boys Soccer: Division 3 No. 15 Whitehall took back a share of the West Michigan Conference title with a 4-0 win over North Muskegon in the league tournament final after North Muskegon won the regular-season share and beat the Vikings for the championship in 2016 – Local Sports Journal

8. Boys Soccer: Marysville clinched its first league title in boys soccer since 2011 with a 2-1 win over St. Clair – Port Huron Times Herald

9. Cross Country: The Indian River Inland Lakes girls and Johannesburg-Lewiston boys won Ski Valley Conference championship meet titles – Traverse City Record-Eagle

10. Wrestling: Manistee hired its third coach in three years, this time bringing in longtime Saginaw Swan Valley leader Darrell Burchfield, who led the Vikings to a 432-91 record from 2003-16 – Manistee News-Advocate

Also for note:

Girls Cross Country: From Tuesday, Sault Ste. Marie senior Mackenzie Kalchik added a fourth Straits Area Conference individual championship to her impressive career work which this season includes pacing the top-ranked team in Upper Peninsula Division 1 – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News