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: 5/1/17
May 1, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A loaded weekend of tournament action all over the state was topped by the best in boys golf and girls tennis facing off as their MHSAA postseasons draw near – Lower Peninsula Regionals for both begin in less than three weeks, and we got a preview of how some of the best might shake out at crunch time.
Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.
Baseball
Division 3 No. 9 Blissfield downed No. 7 Sand Creek 7-3 in their lone matchup, as the second game was canceled because of bad weather – Adrian Daily Telegram
Boys Golf
Top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central won the Division 1 title and overall, and Division 2 No. 4 Flint Powers Catholic and Division 3 No. 2 Big Rapids also won divisional titles at the Traverse City Tee-Off – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Boys Lacrosse
Battle Creek Lakeview came back from a late four-goal deficit to down reigning champion and Division 2 No. 9 Harper Creek and win the Battle Creek All-City Invitational – Battle Creek Enquirer
Softball
Reed City’s softball team led a combined effort with the baseball team to claim the Osceola Royal Rumble, which took into account both teams' efforts combined – Cadillac News
Unranked New Baltimore Anchor Bay downed Division 2 reigning champion and top-ranked Richmond 13-1 in the final of the Macomb Classic #2 – Macomb Daily
Muskegon Mona Shores’ Taylor Dew had two home runs and six RBI going 6 for 6 over a two-game sweep of Whitehall – Muskegon Chronicle
Vicksburg’s Shaidan Knapp also had two home runs and six RBI, in one game, to lead the Division 2 No. 4 Bulldogs to a 10-1 win over Paw Paw – Kalamazoo Gazette
Sydney Pezzoni’s walk-off single gave Division 1 No. 9 Howell a 5-4 win over No. 4 Walled Lake Northern – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
From last week, longtime Trenton coach John Biedenbach went over 1,000 career wins in a victory over Southgate Anderson – Southgate News Herald
Girls Soccer
Caroline Lewis posted a pair of shutouts to lead Adrian to the first Adrian Lenawee Christian Cougar Cup – Adrian Daily Telegram
Girls Tennis
Division 1 No. 3 Northville, No. 1 Midland Dow and No. 8 Port Huron Northern claimed the top three spots at the 33rd Ann Arbor Huron Invitational – Midland Daily News
Division 4 No. 3 Jackson Lumen Christi downed No. 2 Kalamazoo Hackett 5-3 after Hackett had also beaten No. 8 Traverse City St. Francis and lost to No. 4 Ann Arbor Greenhills earlier in the week – Kalamazoo Gazette
Track & Field
Chesaning swept the boys and girls titles at its first home invitational in more than a decade; the boys team is ranked No. 3 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – Saginaw News
Grand Rapids Christian swept the Grand Rapids Elite Meet titles, while Grand Haven finished runner-up in both competitions; the Eagles boys are No. 5 and the girls No. 6 in LP Division 2 – Grand Haven Tribune
Good Read
Fruitport’s Karson Kriger pitches, hits and plays outfield for his baseball team, also played football and is now giving rodeo a try – and providing inspiration to many doing so without an amputated left forearm – Muskegon Chronicle
Petoskey is mourning the unexpected death of girls tennis coach Dree Lo, a former standout at Okemos, beloved member of her community and longtime contributor to athletics – Petoskey News-Review