Today in the MHSAA: 5/25/16

May 25, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Top Michigan teams in girls soccer and softball matched up Tuesday as most prepare for the start of District play next week – and check out also a great story of sportsmanship from the Muskegon area.

Baseball

Richmond downed Armada 4-0 to clinch a 17th straight Blue Water Area Conference championship – Port Huron Times-Herald

Boys Golf

Essexville Garber won its fourth Bay County championship in five seasons, led this time by Graham MacBride’s 78 – Bay City Times

Boys Lacrosse

Midland came back to edge Bloomfield Hills 15-11 in a Regional matchup of strong Division 1 hopefuls – Midland Daily News

Girls Soccer

Division 2 top-ranked DeWitt downed Division 3 No. 2 Williamston for the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup championship – Lansing State Journal

Softball

Division 4 No. 2 Unionville-Sebewaing split with Division 2 top-ranked Saginaw Swan Valley 0-1 and 7-6, only days after beating Division 1 top-ranked Macomb Dakota in tournament play – Saginaw News

Petoskey’s Emme Williams tied her school's pitching record of 26 wins and broke the runs record with 53 in a sweep of Boyne City – Petoskey News

Track & Field

Lake Linden-Hubbell continued a dominant run by sweeping both girls and boys Copper Mountain Conference meet championships – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Clare swept league titles in the Jack Pine Conference, the girls winning for the third straight season and the boys for the 13th consecutive spring – Mount Pleasant Morning News

Good Read

We love these stories of sportsmanship: North Muskegon soccer keeper Gus Keur made a big save during a collision in what was then a scoreless game, but after noticed the Muskegon Reeths-Puffer opponent who took the shot still on the ground – so Keur picked up her opponent and carried her toward the sideline. Reeths-Puffer scored not long after and won 1-0, but as Keur’s mother told her, more will remember her kind act than the goal she let by – Muskegon Chronicle

Today in the MHSAA: 12/10/15

December 10, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Wednesday was the first day of winter in full swing with significant matchups coming in six sports as four got into the heart of their first week of the season. Be sure to check out as well a story on MHSAA officials recruiting efforts.

Girls Basketball

Traverse City St. Francis won an early battle between two of the north’s top small-school teams, downing Frankfort (featured today on Second Half) 76-72 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

A pair of Concord players filled the stat sheet in a 62-56 win over Michigan Center; senior Lindsey Lehmen led with 24 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals, and sophomore Camryn Ward grabbed 19 rebounds – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Boys Basketball

From Tuesday, Sanford Meridian freshman Lucas Lueder will be among first-year players to watch, if his 18 points in a 65-61 win over Saginaw Nouvel are an indication – Midland Daily News

Boys Bowling

Vandercook Lake could be in line for an exciting season or four after watching freshmen Korey Reichard (278) and Conner Lackey (267) lead the way in a 29-1 win over Grass Lake – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Ice Hockey

Division 3 No. 10 Farmington’s two first-period goals were enough as the Falcons scored a key early-season win over Division 2 No. 4 Berkley – Oakland Press

After finishing regulation tied, Division 2 No. 9 Traverse City Central needed only 14 seconds of overtime to get past Cadillac 4-3 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Boys Swimming & Diving

Chelsea coach Dave Jolly was the mid-Michigan link to Wednesday’s Waverly Relays, the annual event for Lansing-area teams to kick off the season; his Lower Peninsula Division 3 No. 3-ranked team broke Okemos’ five-year hold on the meet championship – Lansing State Journal

Wrestling

No. 3 Davison earned one of the most significant early wins so far this season, 45-27 over No. 4 Brighton, which beat Davison in the Division 1 Semifinals last season – Livingston Daily

Saginaw Swan Valley, No. 8 in Division 3, just escaped Essexville Garber for a 32-30 win – Saginaw News

Good Read

After more than five decades as an official, Dick Kalahar is watching from the stands this season. He is among a growing number of retiring officials the MHSAA is charged with replacing over the next few years, and this piece looks at some of the challenges and opportunities, in part through Kalahar’s eyes – Jackson Citizen-Patriot