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: 1/16/18
January 16, 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.
Today's Top 10
1. Boys Swimming & Diving – Holland West Ottawa, No. 4 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, emerged as the best among titans with wins over No. 3 Birmingham Brother Rice and No. 1 Ann Arbor Skyline in a tri-meet – Holland Sentinel
2. Wrestling: Four of Michigan’s best tested themselves against Ohio power Lakewood St. Edward, which finished 4-0 with wins over Division 1 No. 1 Detroit Catholic Central, No. 4 Davison, Division 2 No. 1 Lowell and Division 3 No. 1 Dundee – Observer & Eccentric
3. Wrestling: Division 2 No. 4 DeWitt claimed the Ada Forest Hills Eastern Invitational title, handing No. 10 Niles its first loss in the process – Niles Daily Star
4. Girls Basketball: Stanton Central Montcalm moved to 11-0 this season with a 48-39 win over Big Rapids, which also entered undefeated – Greenville Daily News
5. Wrestling: Division 2 No. 7 Stevensville Lakeshore won the Holland West Ottawa Invitational, downing Rockford in the final, and coach Bruce Bittenbender won his 900th career match during the run – St. Joseph Herald Palladium
6. Wrestling: Division 1 No. 2 Brighton finished the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Gold Duals 5-0 on Saturday and defeated No. 3 Macomb Dakota on Sunday to finish off a strong weekend – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
7. Boys Basketball: Marine City Cardinal Mooney’s Daniel Everhart scored 23 points in a 70-44 win over Allen Park Cabrini to become the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,423 over his career – Port Huron Times Herald
8. Wrestling: Sparta placed 11 wrestlers to win its invitational, with Grandville second and Division 4 No. 10 Springport third – Grand Rapids Press
9. Hockey: Kingsford won a high-scoring road game at Division 3 No. 5 Houghton, 6-5 – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
10. Cheer: Preparation paid off for Bay City Central as it won its Wolfpack Cheer Challenge by more than 50 points – Bay City Times
Also of note …
Boys Swimming & Diving: Just more than a week ago, Corunna’s Xavier Staubs and Grant Warner were the biggest winners during a meet against Owosso; they pulled an unresponsive Owosso competitor from the water so others could then revive him – Detroit Free Press