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: 10/8/19

October 8, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

We’ve officially entered tournament time for our first few Lower Peninsula sports, with Girls Golf Regionals teeing off Monday while boys soccer and tennis teams finished their regular seasons with playoffs up next.

1. Girls Golf: No. 4 Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian won its Lower Peninsula Division 4 Regional and No. 3 Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep was second, with No. 5 Montague third to make the Finals for the first time – Muskegon Chronicle

2. Girls Golf: No. 3 Okemos won its LPD1 Regional against a field including No. 8 Grand Blanc and formerly-ranked Brighton – Lansing State Journal

3. Girls Golf: No. 9 St. Joseph edged Mattawan by a stroke and No. 4 Middleville Thornapple Kellogg by three to win an LPD2 Regional – Sturgis Journal

4. Boys Soccer: Utica Eisenhower downed Utica 1-0 to earn a share of the Macomb Area Conference Red title and the 200th victory for coach Josh VanHouten – Macomb Daily

5. Boys Soccer: Division 1 No. 3 Novi got past No. 14 Livonia Stevenson 4-0 to claim the overall Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship – Observer & Eccentric

6. Boys Soccer: A Saline win over Monroe combined with a tie between Division 1 No. 4 Ann Arbor Skyline and Pioneer gave the Southeastern Conference Red title to the No. 13 Hornets – Saline Post

7. Boys Soccer: Roscommon locked up the Northern Michigan Soccer League title with a 5-1 victory over Gladwin, which had won the last five league championships – MI Sports Now

8. Boys Soccer: Division 4 No. 8 Adrian Lenawee Christian repeated as overall Independent Soccer League champion with a 1-0 win over No. 9 Hillsdale Academy – Adrian Daily Telegram

9. Girls Golf: No. 3 Marshall won its LPD3 Regional by 20 strokes – Niles Daily Star

10. Boys Tennis: Brownstown Woodhaven won four flights on the way to clinching the Downriver League Meet team title – Southgate News-Herald

Also of note …

Boys Soccer: Chippewa Valley shut out Utica Ford 4-0 to also share the MAC Red title – Macomb Daily

Girls Golf: Grosse Pointe South shot a 335 to outpace its LPD1 Regional field by 35 strokes – MHSAA.com

Boys Tennis: From Saturday, LPD1 No. 3 Northville edged No. 9 Novi to win the overall KLAA Tournament title – Observer & Eccentric

Boys Tennis: From Saturday, Muskegon Mona Shores scored two more points than Jenison to win the Ottawa-Kent Conference Black Tournament title – Local Sports Journal