Today in the MHSAA: 2/17/17
February 17, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
At least eight girls basketball league championships were decided in some way Thursday night, and we’ve linked up to media coverage for all of them, plus another on the boys hoops side and an impressive skiing accomplishment.
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.
Girls Basketball
Grass Lake won its first Cascades Conference championship in more than a decade, clinching with a 59-55 win over Manchester – Jackson Citizen Patriot
Comstock clinched a share of its first league title in 24 years with a 50-28 win over Bridgman – Kalamazoo Gazette
Frankenmuth clinched a share of an 11th straight Tri-Valley Conference East title with a 61-33 win over Otisville-LakeVille – Saginaw News
Reese downed Bad Axe 54-21 to earn a ninth straight Greater Thumb Conference West title – Saginaw News
Sandusky won the GTC East championship with a 47-30 victory over Harbor Beach – Huron Daily Tribune
In their second matchup this month, Marquette avenged an earlier loss by handing Houghton its first defeat this season – Marquette Mining Journal
Traverse City Central clinched a share of the Big North Conference title with a 39-32 win over Alpena – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Centreville downed Bronson 42-30 to win the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Blue title – Sturgis Journal
Bloomfield Hills secured an outright Oakland Activities Association White title after earning the first share a week ago – Oakland Press
Boys Basketball
Owendale-Gagetown secured a share of the Inner State Athletic Conference title with a 49-45 win over Burton Faith – Huron Daily Tribune
Skiing
For the first time in Brighton history, both the girls and boys teams won Regional championships – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Good Read/Watch
Grand Rapids-based WZZM featured Beaverton boys basketball coach Roy Johnston as part of its "Our Michigan Life" series after the Beavers' leader broke the MHSAA career coaching wins record in the sport – WZZM
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