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: 4/9/19

April 9, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Many in Michigan returned from Spring Break on Monday, and teams jumped straight into competition with five sports making our first daily achievers list of this season.

1. Girls Tennis: Petoskey won five flight championships en route to earning the Up North Invite team title – Petoskey News-Review

2. Softball: Kalkaska coach Rik Ponstein earned his 700th career win during his team’s sweep of Roscommon – Traverse City Record-Eagle

3. Boys Lacrosse: Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard edged rival Greenhills 7-6 in overtime – We Love Ann Arbor

4. Baseball: Division 1 No. 6 Lake Orion downed Division 3 No. 16 Madison Heights Bishop Foley for its first win – Oakland Press

5. Baseball: Division 3 No. 12 Michigan Center swept Jonesville in a rematch of last season’s Regional Final – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

6. Baseball: Division 2 No. 6 Saginaw Swan Valley took a pair of impressive wins over Mount Pleasant – Saginaw News

7. Softball: Gladwin earned a pair of one-run wins over Midland Dow – Midland Daily News

8. Baseball: Division 1 No. 16 Plymouth won big over Northville in a matchup of Kensington Lakes Activities Association contenders – Observer & Eccentric

9. Softball: Division 1 No. 8 Canton improved to 2-0 with a 6-1 win over Novi – State Champs Sports Network

10. Girls Soccer: Taylor Noble had a first-half hat trick as Boyne City downed Kalkaska – MI Sports Now

Also of note …

Baseball: From Friday, Fowlerville downed Division 2 top-ranked Detroit Country Day 2-1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Softball: From Friday, No. 4 Howell avenged a Wednesday loss with a big win over No. 2 Hartland to finish their first rematch from last season’s Division 1 Semifinal – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Baseball: From Friday, Division 1 No. 3 Grandville made a trip east and left with a 13-6 win over Division 2 No. 2 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s – State Champs Sports Network

Baseball: From April 3, Division 1 No. 8 Detroit Catholic Central swept top-ranked Birmingham Brother Rice – Observer & Eccentric