Today in the MHSAA: 12/20/18
December 20, 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.
Teams are getting in their final competitions before at least a brief holiday break, and we’re taking one too after today’s list – “Today” will return Jan. 7, although Second Half will continue publishing stories from all over the state during the final week of December and first of January.
1. Boys Basketball: Gaylord St. Mary broke a 31-game, 14-year losing streak to Bellaire with a 29-26 win – Gaylord Herald Times
2. Boys Basketball: Camden-Frontier improved to 7-0 by handing a first loss to Reading, 57-46 – Hillsdale Daily News
3. Hockey: Evan MacDonald had a hat trick as Division 1 No. 5 Brighton downed reigning Division 3 runner-up Livonia Churchill 4-1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
4. Boys Basketball: Mancelona gave Pellston its first loss of this season, 67-65 – Petoskey News-Review
5. Girls Basketball: Waterford Our Lady made a late run to get past Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 61-56 – Oakland Press
6. Wrestling: Grand Haven came back from a 24-0 deficit to defeat Caledonia 39-33 – Grand Haven Tribune
7. Gymnastics: Escanaba remained undefeated to start the season with wins over Marquette and Negaunee – Escanaba Daily Press
8. Boys Basketball: Portland St. Patrick closed on a 22-5 run to beat Fowler 52-42 – Ionia Sentinel-Standard
9. Hockey: Brendan Pellerito had 34 saves as Mattawan shut out Portage Northern 4-0 – JoeInsider.com
10. Wrestling: Division 4 top-ranked Hudson earned a pair of league wins over Blissfield and Onsted – Adrian Daily Telegram
Also of note …
Hockey: The status of high school hockey is on the rise with talent evaluators at the game’s next levels – Observer & Eccentric
Tennis: Longtime coach Paul Bandrowski retired after leading Traverse City St. Francis’ girls and boys teams to a number of strong MHSAA Finals finishes – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Girls Basketball: From Tuesday, Eaton Rapids came back to stun Jackson Northwest 44-41, but the Mounties’ Sydney Shafer went over 1,000 career points – Jackson Citizen Patriot
Boys Swimming & Diving: From Tuesday, Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 2 Ann Arbor Skyline edged LPD2 top-ranked Dexter 95-90 – We Love Ann Arbor
Today in the MHSAA: 11/11/19
November 11, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
District week of the MHSAA Volleyball Tournament closed with more champions earning their way to Regionals, but swimming & diving earned the brightest weekend headlines with power-packed league meets and historic accomplishments.
1. Girls Swimming & Diving: Saline – No. 4 in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – edged top-ranked Ann Arbor Pioneer by 16 points to win the Southeastern Conference Red meet – Saline Post
2. Girls Swimming & Diving: Grand Blanc won the Saginaw Valley League meet, ending LPD2 No. 7 Midland Dow’s 13-year hold on the title – Midland Daily News
3. Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD2 No. 6 Dexter won its 22nd straight league championship, finishing ahead of runner-up and LPD3 No. 9 Chelsea at the Southeastern Conference White meet – Chelsea Sun Times News
4. Girls Swimming & Diving: No. 5 Northville was first, No. 9 Novi second and No. 7 Brighton third at the Kensington Lakes Activities Association meet – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
5. Volleyball: Escanaba swept Menominee in Division 2 to claim its first District title in this sport – Escanaba Daily Press
6. Volleyball: Jackson Northwest won the final two sets of a five-set victory over Okemos in Division 1 to claim its first District title in this sport since 2001 – Jackson Citizen Patriot
7. Volleyball: Niles Brandywine avenged last month’s league-deciding loss to honorable mention Bridgman with a five-set Division 3 District title win – Niles Daily Star
8. Volleyball: Sterling Heights Stevenson went to an 18-16 fifth-set win to get past Macomb Dakota for a Division 1 District title – Macomb Daily
9. Volleyball: Ann Arbor Skyline repeated as a Division 1 District champion with a sweep of honorable mention Saline – We Love Ann Arbor
10. Volleyball: Honorable mention Edwardsburg swept Buchanan in Division 2 to finish a third straight District title run – Niles Daily Star
Also of note …
Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD1 honorable mention Zeeland finished an outright Ottawa-Kent Conference Green championship with a league meet win – Holland Sentinel
Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD1 No. 3 Rockford edged honorable mention Holland West Ottawa to claim the O-K Red meet title – Holland Sentinel
Volleyball: From Thursday, Ionia defeated Central Montcalm in five sets in Division 2 to earn its first District championship in this sport since 1977 – Greenville Daily News