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: 8/31/15

August 31, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The final weekend of August was a giant weekend for MHSAA volleyball contenders, with some of the top regular-season events this fall providing opportunities for the best to see how they might match up when playoffs begin in two months.

Below are headlines for some of the key high school reports from across the state; the weekend’s football round-up will publish later this afternoon.  

Cross Country

Muskegon Reeths-Puffer’s Maryssa Depies set a course record of 18:11.3 to win the Big Red Invitational at McGraft Park – Muskegon Chronicle

Flint Powers Catholic’s top individual finisher came in ninth, but the Chargers girls as a team were first at the Lansing Catholic Invitational – Flint Journal

The reigning Lower Peninsula Division 2 champion Grand Rapids Christian boys repeated as winner of the prestigious Benzie Central Invitational, finishing ahead of Traverse City West and Central, while Central senior Anthony Berry won individually in 15:24 – Grand Rapids Press

Boys Soccer

Tawas, a Division 3 semifinalist last season, finished first from an Elk Rapids Invitational field that included Berkley and Saginaw Nouvel – Bay City Times

Volleyball

Lake Odessa Lakewood, last season’s Class B runner-up and the second-ranked team in that class this week, eliminated Class A No. 6 Grand Rapids Christian to win the West Michigan Volleyball Officials Association tournament for the first time in a decade – Grand Rapids Press

Class A No. 4 Grand Haven continued its perfect run at its outdoor Battle of the Boardwalk tournament, sweeping three opponents to remain undefeated through the event's third year – Grand Haven Tribune

Battle Creek Harper Creek, No. 9 in Class B, improved to 17-0 by winning the Cereal City Tournament at Pennfield with a 2-1 championship match win over Temperance Bedford, an MHSAA semifinalist last season in Class A – Battle Creek Enquirer

Good Reads

The Holland Sentinel introduced its top female athletes in that area’s history Sunday, and highlighted nationally-known softball star Kathy Arendsen and her successes during one of the MHSAA’s first Softball Finals – Holland Sentinel

Anyone who follows high school football history will enjoy going through the Muskegon Chronicle’s sampling of top-20 moments from that area’s football past – Muskegon Chronicle

More than 60 former Shepherd High School players from the last 25 seasons returned for an alumni doubleheader Sunday to honor coach Jack Nartker, who will retire after this spring – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun