Today in the MHSAA: 12/19/17

December 19, 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. Hockey: Division 2 No. 8 Midland Dow pulled within a goal of the lead after falling behind by five, but unranked Saginaw Heritage prevailed with a 6-5 victory – Midland Daily News

2. Girls Basketball: Tiffany Senerius went over 1,000 points for her career as Waterford Our Lady got past West Bloomfield 53-44 – Oakland Press

3. Girls Basketball: Autumn Carpenter’s shot as time expired gave Union City a 29-28 win over Climax-Scotts – Coldwater Daily Reporter

4. Boys Basketball: Ewen-Trout Creek downed Wakefield-Marenisco 47-39 in a matchup of unbeaten teams – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

5. Boys Basketball: Benton Harbor Dream Academy opened its season with a win, handing St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic its first loss 54-52 – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

6. Boys Basketball: Frankenmuth got past Saginaw Heritage 63-51, led by all-stater Mario Whitley – WNEM

7. Girls Basketball: Calumet’s defense locked down Ontonagon during the final quarter to come away with a 52-38 win – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

8. Girls Basketball: Engadine bounced back from a slow start to get past Rudyard 50-35 – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

9. Football: You won’t find Mike Centala’s name in the record book with high school coaches who have won over the years, but he was plenty successful during 40 as a middle school coach in the Monroe Jefferson districtMonroe Evening News

10. Football: The Central Lake/Ellsworth co-op won the 8-player Division 1 championship last month, and reunited to celebrate the accomplishment before the respective basketball squads faced off – WPBN

Also of note:

Wrestling: Division 2 No. 3 Gaylord won the 21-team Marquette Challenge, finishing ahead of runner-up Sparta and Division 4 No. 2 New Lothrop – Gaylord Herald Times

Today in the MHSAA: 9/17/15

September 17, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Today’s know-your-sports checklist includes catching up on impressive feats by some of the state’s top-ranked girls golf teams and enjoying a pair of inspirational stories about leading soccer scorers.

Girls Golf

Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 4 Lake Orion won the Oakland County Division 1 Tournament for the second straight season, edging No. 6 Novi by one shot and No. 1 Rochester by two – Oakland Press

Three Spring Lake golfers carded three birdies apiece to lead the LP Division 3 No. 1 Lakers to a 53-stroke win in the Lakes 8 jamboree on their home course – Muskegon Chronicle

Boys Soccer

Freeland improved to 11-1 with its first win over Saginaw Swan Valley in three seasons, also handing the Vikings their first loss this fall – Saginaw News

Boys Tennis

Midland Dow, No. 1 in Lower Peninsula Division 2, fell to No. 3 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central at the Midweek Classic, but still won the tournament thanks to No. 6 Detroit U-D Jesuit’s win over FHC – Midland Daily News and Saginaw News

Volleyball

Ionia swept reigning Capital Area Activities Conference White champion Williamston, beating the Hornets for the first time under sixth-year coach Jeanna Kraatz – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Niles emerged as the biggest winner from the SMAC 6-Pack Tournament on its home floor with victories over Battle Creek Lakeview, Battle Creek Central and Richland Gull Lake, all in two games – Niles Daily Star

Bay City John Glenn improved to 9-1 with a win over Tawas, opening North East Michigan Conference play as the reigning champion and with nearly the same lineup as in 2014 – Bay City Times

Good Reads

We’re big fans of athletes who play multiple sports, and Port Huron’s Jon Miller is one of the latest – he’s the soccer team’s leading scorer and the top field goal kicker in school history, plus one of the football team’s leading receivers. A great line from the story: “But if there’s one kid that can take this on, it’s the kid that’s loading his senior year with as many memories as possible.” – Port Huron Times-Herald

Andrew Shippell is Marshall’s leading scorer this season, and after three years of fighting is preparing to celebrate a milestone – the end of his chemotherapy in February – Battle Creek Enquirer