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

Today in the MHSAA: 4/25/19

April 25, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A major soccer matchup tops today’s list of Wednesday’s best headliners, followed by a record-setting upset also on the pitch.

1. Girls Soccer: Division 1 No. 2 Grand Blanc held off Division 2 No. 7 Flint Powers 3-2 in a matchup of teams that played in MHSAA Finals last season – WJRT

2. Girls Soccer: New Baltimore Anchor Bay shut out Division 1 No. 3 Utica Eisenhower 1-0, giving Ally Gaunt 32 shutouts to tie her school’s record – Macomb Daily

3. Baseball: Division 3 No. 3 Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett took Division 2 No. 17 Detroit Country Day to extra innings and won 4-3 – Detroit News

4. Track & Field: Kingsley’s girls, No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 3, edged LPD2 No. 11 Benzie Central’s 91-84, while Benzie’s No. 14 boys won by eight points over the LPD3 No. 7 Stags – Traverse City Record Eagle

5. Track & Field: Jessica Holcomb broke Quincy’s long jump record set in 1982 in helping her team to an 86-51 win over Concord – Coldwater Daily Reporter

6. Boys Lacrosse: Tecumseh edged Dexter 14-11, giving Tecumseh coach Steve Ayre his 100th win – Adrian Daily Telegram

7. Baseball: Pinconning went 10 innings to take a 9-8 win over Division 3 No. 16 Beaverton – Bay City Times

8. Girls Soccer: Division 4 No. 2 Kalamazoo Christian handed Coloma its first loss this season, 6-1 – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

9. Girls Soccer: Alpena handed Gaylord its first loss, 2-1, in what also was the Wildcats’ first league win in nine years – WBKB

10. Baseball: Shawn Kaiser threw Midland Bullock Creek’s second no-hitter in two days in a split with Saginaw Valley Lutheran – Midland Daily News

Also of note …

O-K Conference: The state’s largest league announced its reconfiguration for 2020-21, including the elimination of a division – Grand Rapids Press