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: 10/18/19
October 18, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
One of the most intriguing league cross country title races in some time came to a conclusion Thursday as a number of state-ranked girls and boys teams ran to be the best in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association.
1. Cross Country: Brighton’s girls – No. 5 in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – finished ahead of No. 2 Northville and No. 6 Salem to win the Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship meet, and Brighton’s top-ranked boys won their first league meet since 1995 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
2. Boys Soccer: No. 3 Marshall scored all of its goals during the final 12 minutes to come back and defeat Coldwater 3-2 in a Division 2 District Final – WWMT
3. Boys Soccer: No. 2 Troy Athens shut out No. 8 Berkley 3-0 to clinch a Division 1 District championship – Oakland Press
4. Boys Soccer: Division 3 No. 2 Hudsonville Unity Christian locked up its sixth straight District title with a 7-0 win over No. 6 Wyoming Lee – FOX 17
5. Cross Country: The LPD1 No. 5 Saline boys clinched the Southeastern Conference Red title with a second place at the final league jamboree, and the top-ranked Ann Arbor Pioneer girls won their race and league championship – Saline Post Boys | Girls
6. Boys Soccer: No. 7 Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep needed overtime but got past No. 9 Hillsdale Academy 2-1 in a Division 4 District Final – JoeInsider.com
7. Cross Country: Romeo and Marysville swept their divisions of the Macomb Area Conference championship meet, with Port Huron Northern’s boys and St. Clair’s girls also victorious; Romeo’s boys are No. 2 in LPD1 and Romeo’s girls are No. 14 – Athletic.net
8. Boys Soccer: Gladwin improved to 20-2-2 and won its first District title in this sport since 2015 with a 1-0 victory over Essexville Garber in Division 3 – Bay City Times
9. Boys Soccer: Dearborn’s second-half surge resulted in a 5-1 Division 1 District title win over Downriver League champion Brownstown Woodhaven – Southgate News-Herald
10. Boys Soccer: Bad Axe improved to 11-4-3 with a 4-2 Division 4 District Final win over Saginaw Valley Lutheran – Huron Daily Tribune