Today in the MHSAA: 4/18/16

April 18, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A week after snow still covered much of the Lower Peninsula, teams on both sides of the bridge got outside to get their seasons rolling – with much of most notable weekend action coming in softball, soccer and tennis.

Girls Soccer

Cadillac shut out Holland Black River and Holland and played Grand Rapids Northview to a 0-0 tie in winning the Holland Invitational on Saturday – Cadillac News

Softball

Spring Lake won the Lakeshore Grand Slam in Stevenson by downing reigning Division 2 champion Wayland 5-4 on the way to the title – Grand Haven Tribune

Melissa Wegener clubbed a seventh-inning home run as part of a five-run rally to help Bay City Western over rival Bay City Central 7-4 in the final of the Bay County Softball Championships – Bay City Times

From Thursday, Emily Dragonetti threw a no-hitter against Charlotte that was her school’s first in at least 14 seasons – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Also from Thursday, Dowagiac’s Taylor Hulett and Megan Soderbloom threw back-to-back no-hitters against Sturgis while striking out a combined 21 batters – Niles Daily Star

Girls Tennis

Battle Creek Lakeview won six flight championships in claiming the overall Battle Creek All-City title – Battle Creek Enquirer

From Wednesday, Division 2 top-ranked Bloomfield Hills Marian and Division 3 No. 2 Detroit Country Day tied 4-4 with Country Day winning all four singles matches and Marian sweeping doubles – Oakland Press

Good Read

Eric Marcil as a student convinced the Muskegon Reeths-Puffer district to create a soccer program, and the 1992 alum came back to coach both the girls and boys teams before his death at 25 after a fight against lymphoma. The school’s field was renamed to honor him Thursday – Muskegon Chronicle

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