Today in the MHSAA: 3/1/19

March 1, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The first Hockey Regional champion of this week was crowned Thursday, headlining a number of key matchups on the ice, while an upset popped up from Boys Basketball Districts and most girls basketball teams finished their regular seasons – some celebrating championships as well.

1. Hockey: No. 9 Marquette downed rival Escanaba 5-0 to clinch a Division 2 Regional title – Escanaba Daily Press

2. Hockey: No. 3 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s got past No. 4 Brighton 2-1 in a Division 1 Regional Semifinal – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

3. Girls Basketball: Southfield Arts & Technology finished a regular-season sweep of second-place Royal Oak to clinch the outright Oakland Activities Association Red title – Oakland Press

4. Girls Basketball: Ann Arbor Pioneer handed Chelsea its first loss in a crossover matchup of Southeastern Conference champions – Chelsea Sun Times News

5. Girls Basketball: Walled Lake Western locked up the Lakes Valley Conference Tournament title with a 55-52 overtime win over Walled Lake Central – State Champs!

6. Hockey: No. 3 Livonia Stevenson got past No. 8 Plymouth 5-1 in a Division 2 Regional Semifinal – Observer & Eccentric

7. Boys Basketball: Dollar Bay avenged two regular-season losses with a 70-55 Division 4 District Semifinal win over Chassell – The Upbeat

8. Girls Basketball: Freeland closed out a fourth straight Tri-Valley Conference Central title with a 44-38 win over Alma – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

9. Girls Basketball: Sydney Shafer scored 29 points in becoming Jackson Northwest’s all-time leading scorer during a win over Lansing Waverly – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

10. Hockey: Top-ranked Hartland advanced to the Division 2 Regional Final with an 8-0 win over Saginaw Swan Valley – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Also of note …

Girls Basketball: Holland Calvary ran out of players and couldn’t finish its season, so those who remained went into coaching – Holland Sentinel

Today in the MHSAA: 5/6/19

May 6, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Special for Second Half

Finishes both close and historic highlighted the first weekend of May as top teams navigated the rain in many places in kicking off the final month of the regular season.

1. Softball: Grace Lehto nearly threw a perfect game as Division 2 No. 3 Eaton Rapids edged Division 3 top-ranked Millington to win the “marquee matchup” of the MI Stars Tournament – State Champs Sports Network 

2. Boys Golf: By way of a fifth-golfer tie-breaker, Gaylord – No. 10 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – edged LPD1 No. 6 Grosse Pointe South to win its invitational with a near-school record score – Gaylord Herald Times

3. Track & Field: Zeeland West’s boys won their 12th-straight Holland West Ottawa Von Ins Relays, while Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 6 Grand Haven and No. 7 West Ottawa’s girls shared their meet championship – Holland Sentinel

4. Boys Golf: Nathan Taylor finished as medalist to lead Muskegon Mona Shores to the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association championship, 30 years after his father won the same tournament – Muskegon Chronicle

5. Track & Field: The Muskegon Reeths-Puffer girls won their 10th straight GMAA title, and the Fruitport boys won their sixth straight – Local Sports Journal

6. Softball: Division 3 No. 7 Standish-Sterling edged No. 3 Sanford Meridian 5-4 to win Meridian’s invitational – Midland Daily News

7. Softball: Division 2 No. 4 Stevensville Lakeshore defeated Schoolcraft in the final to win its invitational for the first time – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

8. Boys Golf: Troy edged Rochester by 12 strokes to win the Oakland County Division 2 championship – Oakland Press

9. Softball: Muskegon Reeths-Puffer and Division 2 No. 5 Oakridge both won their fourth straight GMAA softball titles – Muskegon Chronicle

10. Track & Field: A total of 61 teams including a number of the best from multiple divisions participated at the Triangle Invitational at Saline – Athletic.net