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: 5/22/18

May 22, 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.

1. Girls Soccer: Division 4 top-ranked North Muskegon ran its record to 16-0 and its overall scoring advantage to 129-0 this spring with an 8-0 win over Ravenna in the West Michigan Conference semifinals – Muskegon Chronicle

2. Girls Soccer: Alma secured the Tri-Valley Conference Central title with a 7-1 win over Ovid-Elsie as Tia Everdeen became the first in program history to score 100 goals – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

3. Boys Golf: Pentwater won the West Michigan D League postseason tournament by a stroke to finish first overall in the league – Manistee News Advocate

4. Softball: Warren Regina came back to edge Farmington Hills Mercy 5-4 in the Detroit Catholic League A-B championship game – Detroit News

5. Girls Soccer: Division 1 No. 18 Rochester Adams downed Rochester 2-0 to clinch an outright Oakland Activities Association Red championship – Oakland Press

6. Boys Golf: Bad Axe won the final Greater Thumb Conference event of the spring by four strokes to create a shared title in the GTC West with Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker – Huron Daily Tribune

7. Baseball/Softball: The Hillman baseball and Division 4 honorable mention Onaway softball teams finished their league title runs undefeated in their respective conferences with two more wins apiece – Alpena News

8. Girls Soccer: Grace VerHage scored her 99th and 100th career goals as Otsego downed Plainwell to stay undefeated in the Wolverine Conference – WWMT

9. Track & Field: The Johannesburg-Lewiston girls and Mancelona boys clinched Ski Valley Conference championships – Traverse City Record-Eagle

10. Softball: Division 3 honorable mention Boyne City swept Charlevoix to earn a share of the Lake Michigan Conference title – Petoskey News-Review

Also of note …

Officials: The MHSAA always is working to recruit and retain officials, and WNEM addressed some of the challenges – WNEM