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: 5/23/19

May 23, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The longest baseball game in MHSAA history and a headline-grabbing first-round Girls Soccer District game top today’s list of achievers from across the state.

1. Baseball: Division 3 No. 15 Blissfield finally edged Division 4 No. 4 Hudson 1-0 in a game that lasted parts of two days and 21 innings, the longest game in MHSAA baseball history – Adrian Daily Telegram

2. Girls Soccer: Brighton downed undefeated and No. 10-ranked South Lyon 3-0 on the first night of the Division 1 District – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

3. Track & Field: Shepherd’s girls locked up their eighth straight Tri-Valley Conference West championship, and the boys won their first league title since 2003; the girls are ranked No. 6 and the boys No. 3 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

4. Boys Golf: LPD4 top-ranked Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart picked up its second league title in two days, claiming first in the Mid-Michigan Golf Conference – Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart

5. Boys Lacrosse: Plymouth earned a Division 1 Regional Final berth with an 11-8 win over Northville; Plymouth was unranked and Northville No. 4 at the start of the postseason – Observer & Eccentric

6. Softball: Division 2 No. 6 Spring Lake downed No. 8 Allendale 9-4 to earn the Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue championship – Local Sports Journal

7. Boys Lacrosse: Spring Lake got past Muskegon Reeths-Puffer 9-7 in a Division 2 Regional Semifinal; they were ranked Nos. 4 and 8, respectively, at the start of the playoffs – Grand Haven Tribune

8. Track & Field: The Alpena boys and Traverse City West girls won Big North Conference meet championships; Alpena is No. 5 in LPD1 – Alpena News | Traverse City Record-Eagle

9. Boys Golf: LPD2 No. 3 Gaylord shot a 315 to edge No. 10 Cadillac by five strokes and win the Big North Conference tournament – Gaylord Herald-Times

10. Track & Field: Saugatuck’s girls and boys locked up their sixth straight Southwestern Athletic Conference titles – Holland Sentinel

Also of note …

Track & Field: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart’s girls and Breckenridge’s boys (No. 3 in LPD4) won Mid-State Activities Conference meet titles – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun Girls | Boys

Softball: Marion picked up a share of the West Michigan D League championship with a sweep of Walkerville – Cadillac News

Track & Field: Harbor Springs’ boys and Traverse City St. Francis’ girls won Lake Michigan Conference meet championships – Petoskey News-Review | Traverse City Record-Eagle

Girls Soccer: Traverse City West downed Petoskey 2-0 to clinch the Big North Conference title – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Boys Golf: Lapeer shot a 322 to outpace Grand Blanc by seven strokes at the Saginaw Valley League championship – Midland Daily News

Track & Field: Adrian Madison swept meet championships in the Tri-County Conference; the boys are ranked No. 4 in LPD3 – Adrian Daily Telegram

Baseball: Bay City Western won a share of the Saginaw Valley League North title with a shutout sweep of Division 2 No. 13 Bay City Joh Glenn – Bay City Times

Track & Field: The Grand Blanc boys and Bay City Western girls won Saginaw Valley League meet titles – Flint Journal