Today in the MHSAA: 5/19/17

May 19, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Thursday was filled with Lower Peninsula Girls Tennis Regionals – and we’ve linked to coverage of nine – plus a matchup of the top two softball teams in Division 1 and a couple of big-time contests in girls soccer.

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.

Baseball

St. Clair won a second straight game over Division 1 No. 17 Port Huron Northern to clinch a share of the Macomb Area Conference Blue title – Port Huron Times Herald

Boys Golf

Otsego repeated as Wolverine Conference champion by edging Edwardsburg by eight strokes at the league tournament – Niles Daily Star

Girls Soccer

Division 1 No. 6 Brighton finished off an overall Kensington Lakes Activities Association title run with a 2-1 win over No. 12 Walled Lake Northern – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Division 2 No. 12 DeWitt reached the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup championship game with a 2-0 win over No. 9 Haslett – Lansing State Journal

Division 1 No. 19 Saline downed Ann Arbor Skyline 1-0 to win a fourth straight Southeastern Conference Red title – Saline Post

Softball

The top two-ranked teams in Division 1 faced off in Macomb Area Conference Red play, with No. 1 Macomb Dakota coming back for a 3-1 win over No. 2 Utica Ford – Macomb Daily

Girls Tennis

No. 5 Bloomfield Hills Marian got past No. 2 Birmingham Seaholm to claim their Division 2 Regional – Oakland Press

No. 8 Flint Powers Catholic sent players to all eight flight finals and won five to claim its Division 3 Regional title – Flint Journal

No. 5 Rockford won its Division 1 Regional for the fourth straight season, scoring 28 points – Grand Rapids Press

No. 4 Holly posted a perfect 32 points to sweep its Division 2 Regional – Flint Journal

Top-ranked East Grand Rapids and No. 3 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern dominated their Division 2 Regional – Grand Rapids Press

No. 3 Bloomfield Hills dominated as well in scoring 30 points to win its Division 1 Regional – Oakland Press

Niles Brandywine claimed its third straight Regional title, edging its Division 4 field by two points – South Bend Tribune

No. 7 Portland claimed its third straight Division 4 Regional title, scoring 29 points – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

No. 9 Grand Rapids West Catholic won its Division 4 Regional by a point over No. 4 Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian – Muskegon Chronicle

Good Reads

Battle Creek Lakeview’s Jessalyn Genier has battled impressively through a senior year that’s included contributing as a standout in multiple sports but against a challenge most never have to experience – her mother’s suicide in October, which has driven her to consider ways she can have an impact in the future – Battle Creek Enquirer

Homer’s Scott Salow and Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett’s Dan Cimini coach two of the state’s top baseball programs, but are connected another more personal way – both nearly died from heart issues. Their teams will play Thursday in the Memorial Day Heart Classic at Comerica Park to raise money for the American Heart Association and Michigan Veterans – Jackson Citizen Patriot

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