Today in the MHSAA: 12/4/17

December 4, 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. Hockey: Jake Beaune had a hat trick as Division 2 top-ranked Livonia Stevenson downing Division 1 No. 4 Northville 6-3 – Observer & Eccentric

2. Bowling: The Cadillac boys opened their season – and history as a program – with a Big North Conference championship after a slim victory over runner-up Gaylord; Traverse City West won the girls championship – Cadillac News

3. Hockey: Division 1 top-ranked Brighton earned a big early-season win, 5-3 over No. 8 Detroit U-D Jesuit – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

4. Hockey: Division 2 No. 5 Trenton won a matchup of annual titans, 4-1 over No. 4 Birmingham Brother Rice – Southgate News Herald

5. Hockey: Division 2 No. 2 Hartland finished a weekend trip with a 6-2 win over Division 3 No. 7 Houghton on Saturday after downing Division 3 top-ranked Hancock on Friday – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

6. Hockey: Division 3 No. 9 Grand Rapids Catholic Central jumped to a 4-0 lead on the way to downing No. 5 East Grand Rapids 5-3 – FOX 17

7. Bowling: Adrian Madison’s Isabell Young won her second straight Wildcat Bowling Blast Off, while classmate Anthony Contreras won the boys bracket – Adrian Daily Telegram

8. Girls Basketball: Bronson drilled a last-minute overtime jumper to edge Centreville 38-36; Centreville was 19-2 a year ago – Sturgis Journal

9. Girls Basketball: Escanaba made nearly 50 percent of its shots in a self-admitted upset of Sault Ste. Marie, 38-37 – Escanaba Daily Press

10. Hockey: Division 2 No. 10 Midland Dow improved to 4-0 with a 4-1 win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, which was ranked No. 5 in the Division 3 preseason poll – Midland Daily News

Also of note …

Hockey: The Saginaw area is mourning the death of former Heritage hockey coach Gene Ayotte, who led the Hawks to more than 200 wins and five league titles from 1994-2008 – Saginaw News

Today in the MHSAA: 6/7/16

June 7, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Action was light as the second-to-last week of 2015-16 began Monday. But that allowed us the opportunity to catch up on some of the incredible District title streaks extended or ended over the weekend, including one stretching three decades.

Baseball

Holt continued to ride its wave after beating rival Grand Ledge in their Division 1 District by beating Mason in a Capital Area Diamond Classic semifinal to earn a championship game matchup with the Comets on Wednesday – Lansing State Journal

From Saturday, Rudyard clinched its seventh straight District title with a 7-1 win over St. Ignace in Division 4 – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Girls Soccer

From Saturday, Pinconning won its first District title, downing Roscommon 2-1 in Division 3 – Bay City Times

From Saturday, Montrose, in Division 4, won its first District title since 2001 and in doing so ended Saginaw Nouvel’s 18-year run of District championships – Saginaw News

Softball

From Friday, Custer Mason County Eastern nearly saw a 30-season District streak end while trailing Brethren in the seventh inning of the championship game, but won 5-4 in eight innings to extend the streak to 31 – Ludington Daily News

Gladstone extended its streak of District titles to 14 with a win over Ishpeming Westwood in their championship game – Escanaba Daily Press

Good Read

It’s hard to tell what’s most intriguing about Monroe baseball standout Naruki Okamoto; that’s he’s moved back and forth between Japan and the U.S. three times, that he’ll graduate this week as a junior because he has that many credits, or that he almost didn’t make the team but has hit .343 as the starting second baseman – Monroe Evening News