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: 6/5/19

June 5, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Nearly all of this week’s Girls Soccer Regional Semifinals were played Tuesday – and a bracket shake-up in Division 2 leads off the list of headliners across all four divisions.

1. Girls Soccer: Unranked Fenton handed top-ranked DeWitt its first and only loss this season, 2-1 in a Division 2 Regional Semifinal – Flint Journal

2. Girls Soccer: No. 2 Royal Oak Shrine will get the chance to play for its first Regional title after downing No. 4 Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central in Division 4 – Oakland Press

3. Girls Soccer: Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, also unranked, upset No. 9 Grand Haven 4-2 in a Division 1 Regional Semifinal – Grand Haven Tribune

4. Girls Soccer: No. 2 Warren Regina held on through a late rally by No. 9 Grosse Ile to move on in Division 3 with a 3-2 win – C&G Newspapers

5. Girls Soccer: Top-ranked Novi got past No. 14 Livonia Stevenson 2-0 in a Division 1 rematch of their league title game – Observer & Eccentric

6. Girls Soccer: No. 7 Houghton Lake won a matchup of ranked Division 4 teams 2-1 over No. 12 Elk Rapids – WPBN

7. Girls Soccer: No. 9 Marshall made a first-half goal stand to the end in a 1-0 win over No. 10 Dexter in Division 2 – Chelsea Sun Times News

8. Girls Soccer: Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard advanced to a Division 3 Regional Final with a win over Delton Kellogg, after beginning this season 0-11-1 – Ann Arbor News

9. Girls Soccer: No. 7 Midland got past Portage Central in a shootout to move on in Division 1 – Kalamazoo Gazette

10. Girls Soccer: Top-ranked North Muskegon moved to 19-2 with a 5-0 win over Grandville Calvin Christian – Local Sports Journal

Also of note …

Boys Golf: Gaylord locked down its third straight Big North Conference championship with a one-stroke tournament win – Traverse City Record-Eagle