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: 2/14/20

February 14, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The first round of the Team Wrestling Tournament finished up Thursday with a dramatic ending in Division 2 leading a loaded list of headliners from across the state and five sports.

1. Wrestling: Caleb McNeil’s last-match comeback gave No. 8 Muskegon Reeths-Puffer a District Semifinal win over No. 4 Whitehall, and the Rockets then shut out Muskegon to win the title in Division 2 – Local Sports Journal

2. Hockey: Division 2 top-ranked Livonia Stevenson shut out Division 1 No. 3 Brighton 4-0 in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship game – Observer & Eccentric

3. Wrestling: Bark River-Harris defeated Manistique in Division 4 to claim its first District title in this sport – Escanaba Daily Press

4. Wrestling: Unranked Union City got past No. 8 Mendon in Division 4 to earn its first District title since 2008 – Coldwater Daily News

5. Wrestling: Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice earned its first District title in this sport in a decade with a 51-20 win over Birmingham Seaholm in Division 1 – Oakland Press

6. Boys Basketball: Fraser’s 50-48 overtime win over St. Clair gave St. Clair and Port Huron Northern a shared Macomb Area Conference Gold title, Northern’s first league championship since 2001 – Port Huron Times-Herald

7. Boys Swimming & Diving: Holland West Ottawa clinched a share of a sixth-straight Ottawa-Kent Conference Red title with a 187-118 win over Grand Haven – Holland Sentinel

8. Girls Basketball: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart took back the Mid-State Activities Conference championship with a 63-48 win over Coleman – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

9. Boys Basketball: Marquette edged Escanaba 68-64 to clinch the Great Northern Conference title – Marquette Mining Journal

10. Girls Basketball: Oscoda clinched a second-straight North Star League Big Dipper title with a 64-27 win over Whittemore-Prescott – Alpena News

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: Detroit Cass Tech advanced to the Detroit Public School League final with a 53-44 win over Detroit Communication & Media Arts – State Champs Sports Network

Boys Basketball: Muskegon Orchard View’s Ke’Ontae Barnes scored 30 points in a 58-43 win over Muskegon Catholic Central to go over 1,000 for his career – Muskegon Chronicle

Girls Basketball: Saline junior Ella Stemmer went over 1,000 points for her career with 19 in a 59-31 win over Monroe – Ann Arbor News