Today in the MHSAA: 12/15/15

December 15, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

We haven’t reached January, and at least a pair of Michigan's best high school bowling teams appear in midseason form as evidenced by their scores Monday.

Girls Basketball

Reigning Class D semifinalist Waterford Our Lady had to hold off Wixom St. Catherine all the way to the final seconds of overtime to emerge with a 55-53 victory – Oakland Press

Manistee got out to a 16-0 lead on the way to defeating Cadillac 46-29 – Manistee News Advocate

Two-time reigning Class A champion Bloomfield Hills Marian has a new starting lineup this season, but is coming up with similar results including a 49-43 win over Flint Powers Catholic – Mlive-Detroit

Boys Basketball

Farwell celebrated the end of a 24-game losing streak with a 52-43 victory over Coleman – the Eagles first victory since early 2014 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Boys Bowling

Vandercook Lake improved to 3-0 with an 18-12 win over Jonesville, rolling a 1,228, which according to the state coaches association is the 10th highest ever in Michigan high school competition – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Girls Bowling

Macomb Dakota has a number of new bowlers after winning the Division 1 championship last season; but so far, so good, as the Cougars beat Utica 28-2 – Macomb Daily

Good Read

Temperance Bedford wrestler Hunter Gandee is more well-known outside of his high school for carrying younger brother Braden on his back on multiple walks from their hometown to Ann Arbor to raise awareness for cerebral palsy. Hunter was named Sports Illustrated High School Athlete of the Year on Monday – Bedford Now

Today in the MHSAA: 10/19/16

October 19, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

District soccer continued Tuesday and league champions were crowned in volleyball and cross country all over the Lower Peninsula – but the must-see stories are a pair of “good reads” coming out of the Jackson and Alpena areas.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Cross Country

The Caro boys – No. 4 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – and the No. 6 Shepherd girls won championships at the Tri-Valley Conference all-division final – Saginaw News

The Ubly girls and boys teams repeated as East champions at the Greater Thumb Conference championship race (Ubly's girls are No. 9 in LPD4), and the Reese girls and LPD4 honorable mention Cass City boys repeated as West winners – Huron Daily Tribune

Traverse City West swept the final Big North Conference jamborees, the West boys earning the league title and the Central girls finishing as overall league champion for the 14th straight season. The Central girls are No. 4 in LPD1 and the West girls are an honorable mention – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Harbor Springs’ boys (No. 2 LPD4) kept their undefeated season going with a third straight Lake Michigan Conference final championship, and Traverse City St. Francis (No. 2 LPD3) clinched the girls title – Petoskey News-Review

Boys Soccer

Division 1 No. 2 Portage Northern moved on with a 4-1 District win over Lansing Everett thanks to three goals by Ryan Melgar – Kalamazoo Gazette

Adrian Lenawee Christian freshman Zach Riordan set his school’s scoring record of 36 goals in an 8-0 Division 4 win over Clinton – Adrian Daily Telegram

Girls Swimming & Diving

LPD1 No. 2 Saline got past No. 10 Brighton 112-74 in a matchup of top Division 1 teams – Saline Post

Volleyball

Walled Lake Central repeated as Lakes champion in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association with a five-set win over Brighton – Livingston Daily Argus & Press

Class A top-ranked Novi swept Canton to win its fourth straight KLAA Kensington championship – Oakland Press

Marine City improved to 8-1 in the Macomb Area Conference Gold and clinched a share of the league title with a three-set win over Warren Mott – Port Huron Times Herald

Good Reads

The story of Brooklyn Columbia Central standout running back Micah Raby is captivating, if not from this passage alone about how his adopted parents found him: “Inside the missionary’s hut, on an ordinary table lay an ordinary bible box containing an extraordinary sight, and it caught Doug and Sandy Raby’s eyes and hearts immediately. Inside that bible box – no bigger than a size 10 shoebox – was a 1-month-old boy named Joseph, one of two surviving triplets. His brother did not survive the birth and the birth parents decided to keep the other one, believed to be a girl, because it was the biggest and had the greatest chance of surviving.” – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Lincoln Alcona announcer Don Franklin first gave voice to the school’s athletic events in 1967, and will retire at the end of this school year with 50 years on the microphone announcing football and a number of other sports over a half century – Alpena News