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: 10/3/17

October 3, 2017

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 Soccer: Division 2 No. 11 Holland partially avenged an earlier 4-0 loss by tying Division 3 No. 2 Hudsonville Unity Christian 1-1 – Holland Sentinel

2. Girls Golf: LPD1 No. 3 Traverse City West and lead scorer Anika Dy (72) finished with championships at the Traverse City Central Invitational – Traverse City Record-Eagle

3. Girls Golf: Unranked South Lyon East edged rival and LPD2 No. 4 South Lyon by a stroke to win the inaugural Lakes Valley Conference tournament with a score of 344; South Lyon ended with the overall league title – Observer & Eccentric

4. Girls Golf: LPD2 No. 3 St. Joseph shot a 338 to win the South Haven Invitational ahead of runner-up and LPD4 top-ranked Kalamazoo Hackett (349) – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

5. Boys Tennis: Big Rapids capped an undefeated regular season with a 7-1 win over Mount Pleasant – Big Rapids News

6. Girls Golf: Utica shot a 386 to win the Macomb Area Conference Blue tournament, with Macomb L’Anse Creuse’s Maddie Quick (84) earning the individual title – Macomb Daily

7. Volleyball: Cadillac outlasted Traverse City West in five sets, winning the last 15-13, to avenge an earlier sweep against the only team that’s beaten the Vikings in the Big North Conference – Cadillac News

8. Boys Soccer: Division 4 No. 7 Hillsdale Academy added to its recent success against its rival with a 2-0 win over Hillsdale High – Hillsdale Daily News

9. Boys Soccer: Ben Holscher’s three second-half goals helped Gaylord to a 5-2 win over Alpena – Gaylord Herald-Times

10. Football: As Fox Sports Detroit wrote in describing this installment of its “Earning the Letter” series, “Corunna Football homecoming spirit extends beyond pep rallies and spirit days in this tight-knit community” – Fox Sports Detroit

Also of note …

Boys Cross Country: From Saturday, Coldwater’s Shuaib Aljabaly (14:53) and Otsego’s Alex Comerford (14:55) posted the fastest boys times in the state this season in finishing first and second, respectively, at the Otsego Invitational – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Girls Swimming & Diving: Also from Saturday, Midland Dow won its seventh straight Tri-Cities Swimming and Diving Championships, led by star sophomore Claire Newman – Midland Daily News