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: 2/4/19

February 4, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

This weekend saw the first Michigan girls wrestling state champions awarded, a rematch of last season’s Division 2 Hockey Final and two top-ranked bowling teams face off – and that's just a sampling of the headliners.

1. Wrestling: The Michigan Wrestling Association awarded 15 championships at its first Girls Wrestling Finals – Adrian Daily Telegram | MLive

2. Gymnastics – Reigning MHSAA champion Farmington United finished more than three points ahead of the field at the Canton Invitational, generally considered the most competitive event of the regular season – Coldwater Daily Reporter

3. Hockey: No. 2-ranked Trenton downed No. 1 Hartland in a rematch of last season’s Division 2 Final, this time at the Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League Showcase – Southgate News-Herald

4. Girls Basketball: Midland Dow upset reigning Class A champion Saginaw Heritage 52-48, handing the Hawks their first defeat this winter – Midland Daily News

5. Bowling: Sturgis downed Three Rivers 29-1 in a matchup of the top-ranked boys teams in Divisions 2 and 3, respectively – Sturgis Journal

6. Wrestling: Division 1 No. 2 Brighton, No. 5 Hartland and No. 4 Westland John Glenn took the top three places, respectively, at the Kensington Lakes Activities Association tournament – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

7. Boys Basketball: Benton Harbor’s Carlos Johnson and Ypsilanti Lincoln’s Emoni Bates both scored 35 points in the Tigers’ 86-83 win at Grand Rapids Union – FOX 17

8. Wrestling: Division 4 No. 9 Bronson claimed the Big 8 Conference championship outright, its first league title in the sport – Coldwater Daily Reporter

9. Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD1 No. 4 Detroit Catholic Central repeated as Oakland County meet champion – Oakland Press

10. Wrestling: Brownstown Woodhaven clinched the outright Downriver League championship after sharing the title the last two seasons – Southgate News-Herald

Also of note …

Boys Swimming & Diving: Warren DeLaSalle, No. 8 in Lower Peninsula Division 2, edged Macomb Dakota to claim the Macomb County meet championship – Macomb Daily

Wrestling: Division 4 No. 2 New Lothrop, Division 2 No. 3 Goodrich and Holly won Flint-area league tournaments titles – Flint Journal

Wrestling: Parma Western clinched the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference championship – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Wrestling: Edwardsburg, Division 2 No. 7 Niles, White Pigeon and Schoolcraft earned league tournament titles in the southwestern Lower Peninsula – JoeInsider.com

Wrestling: Iron Mountain won the Mid-Peninsula Conference tournament title – Iron Mountain Daily News

Boys Basketball: St. Clair Shores Lake Shore downed Utica to clinch the outright Macomb Area Conference Blue title – Macomb Daily

Wrestling: Division 3 No. 4 Remus Chippewa Hills had five individual champs and Division 4 No. 8 Leroy Pine River won a team title in more league tournament action – Big Rapids News

Girls Basketball: From Thursday, Cierra Molina became the fifth player to score 1,000 career points for Rudyard, reaching the milestone against Brimley – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News