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: 5/21/19
May 21, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Monday saw one of the spring’s busiest afternoons so far for league champions as at least 19 teams clinched shares or outright titles in a variety of sports.
1. Girls Soccer: Division 2 No. 14 Pinckney locked up the Southeastern Conference White championship, its first league title in this sport, with a 2-1 win over No. 10 Dexter – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
2. Girls Soccer: Division 4 top-ranked North Muskegon clinched its fourth straight West Michigan Conference title, with its seniors finishing 40-0 in league play over their careers, thanks to a 9-4 win over Division 3 No. 13 Whitehall – Local Sports Journal
3. Softball: Division 1 No. 6 Warren Regina edged Division 3 No. 3 Allen Park Cabrini 3-2 to win the Detroit Catholic League A-B championship game – C&G Newspapers
4. Girls Soccer: Division 1 top-ranked Novi moved to 20-0-1 with a 2-0 win over No. 14 Livonia Stevenson that clinched the overall Kensington Lakes Activities Association title – Observer & Eccentric
5. Track & Field: Gladstone’s boys won their first Mid-Peninsula Conference meet championship, while Negaunee’s girls locked up their 10th straight – Marquette Mining Journal
6. Softball: Division 1 honorable mention Allen Park clinched a share of its ninth straight Downriver League title with a sweep of Gibraltar Carlson – Southgate News-Herald
7. Girls Soccer: Kingsley claimed its first Northwest Conference championship in this sport with a 1-0 win over Buckley – Traverse City Record-Eagle
8. Baseball: Division 2 No. 2 East Grand Rapids clinched a share and then the outright O-K Gold title with a doubleheader sweep of Ada Forest Hills Eastern – FOX 17
9. Girls Soccer: Division 3 No. 4 Otsego finished a repeat title run in the Wolverine Conference with a 1-0 victory over Plainwell – WWMT
10. Baseball: Morley Stanwood picked up a share of a third straight Central State Activities Association Silver title with a 9-7 win over Kent City – Big Rapids News
Also of note …
Girls Soccer: Division 3 No. 9 Grosse Ile locked up a share of the Huron League title with a 2-1 win over Riverview – Southgate News-Herald
Softball: Macomb Lutheran North edged Madison Heights Bishop Foley 8-6 to clinch the Catholic League C-D title – State Champs Sports Network
Softball: Division 1 No. 3 Bay City Western locked up a second straight Saginaw Valley League North title with a sweep of Midland Dow – Bay City Times
Girls Soccer: A draw against Jenison gave Muskegon Mona Shores its third straight O-K Black title – Local Sports Journal
Boys Golf: Byron Center, No. 9 in Lower Peninsula Division 3, claimed the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green championship with a win at the league tournament – Holland Sentinel
Baseball/Softball: The Camden-Frontier baseball team and North Adams-Jerome softball team clinched championships in the Southern Central Athletic Association East – Hillsdale Daily News
Softball: Division 4 No. 8 Holton claimed its fifth straight league title and Muskegon Orchard View its third consecutive – Local Sports Journal
Boys Basketball: Longtime former coach Paul Polfus will bring nearly 700 combined girls and boys varsity victories when he re-takes over the latter program at Carney-Nadeau – Escanaba Daily Press