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: 5/17/19

May 17, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Girls Tennis and girls and boys track & field joined the postseason march Thursday with the first of this week’s Regional competitions in their respective sports.  

1. Girls Tennis: No. 2 Birmingham Seaholm edged No. 4 Bloomfield Hills Marian to claim a Lower Peninsula Division 2 Regional title – Oakland Press

2. Track & Field: Ishpeming’s boys and Hancock’s girls won close races to Upper Peninsula Division 2 Regional titles – Iron Mountain Daily News

3. Softball: Division 2 honorable mention Chelsea improved to 26-4, handing No. 3 Eaton Rapids (26-1) its first loss of this season during a quad – Chelsea Sun Times News

4. Baseball: Division 1 top-ranked Brownstown Woodhaven locked up its fifth straight Downriver League title with a big win over Allen Park – Southgate News-Herald

5. Track & Field: Gladstone’s boys won eight of 12 events to claim a UPD1 Regional title, while Marquette’s girls prevailed as well – Escanaba Daily Press

6. Baseball: Marysville claimed the outright Macomb Area Conference Blue title with a sweep of Fraser – Port Huron Times-Herald

7. Softball: Fowlerville swept Haslett to lock up the Capital Area Activities Conference Red championship – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

8. Girls Soccer: Division 1 No. 13 Livonia Stevenson claimed the Kensington Lakes Activities Association East title with a 3-0 win over Dearborn – Observer & Eccentric

9. Girls Tennis: No. 9 Jackson Lumen Christi won its LPD4 Regional by seven points over runner-up Kalamazoo Christian – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

10. Baseball: No. 6 Portage Northern won big over No. 10 Richland Gull Lake in a matchup of top teams in Division 1 – Kalamazoo Gazette

Also of note …

Football: The Muskegon area is mourning the death of coach Pete Kutches, who led both Muskegon Catholic Central and Reeths-Puffer to MHSAA championships – Muskegon Chronicle

Baseball: From last week, Division 1 No. 2 Birmingham Seaholm claimed its first league title since 2009 – Observer & Eccentric