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: 2/14/20

February 14, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The first round of the Team Wrestling Tournament finished up Thursday with a dramatic ending in Division 2 leading a loaded list of headliners from across the state and five sports.

1. Wrestling: Caleb McNeil’s last-match comeback gave No. 8 Muskegon Reeths-Puffer a District Semifinal win over No. 4 Whitehall, and the Rockets then shut out Muskegon to win the title in Division 2 – Local Sports Journal

2. Hockey: Division 2 top-ranked Livonia Stevenson shut out Division 1 No. 3 Brighton 4-0 in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship game – Observer & Eccentric

3. Wrestling: Bark River-Harris defeated Manistique in Division 4 to claim its first District title in this sport – Escanaba Daily Press

4. Wrestling: Unranked Union City got past No. 8 Mendon in Division 4 to earn its first District title since 2008 – Coldwater Daily News

5. Wrestling: Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice earned its first District title in this sport in a decade with a 51-20 win over Birmingham Seaholm in Division 1 – Oakland Press

6. Boys Basketball: Fraser’s 50-48 overtime win over St. Clair gave St. Clair and Port Huron Northern a shared Macomb Area Conference Gold title, Northern’s first league championship since 2001 – Port Huron Times-Herald

7. Boys Swimming & Diving: Holland West Ottawa clinched a share of a sixth-straight Ottawa-Kent Conference Red title with a 187-118 win over Grand Haven – Holland Sentinel

8. Girls Basketball: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart took back the Mid-State Activities Conference championship with a 63-48 win over Coleman – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

9. Boys Basketball: Marquette edged Escanaba 68-64 to clinch the Great Northern Conference title – Marquette Mining Journal

10. Girls Basketball: Oscoda clinched a second-straight North Star League Big Dipper title with a 64-27 win over Whittemore-Prescott – Alpena News

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: Detroit Cass Tech advanced to the Detroit Public School League final with a 53-44 win over Detroit Communication & Media Arts – State Champs Sports Network

Boys Basketball: Muskegon Orchard View’s Ke’Ontae Barnes scored 30 points in a 58-43 win over Muskegon Catholic Central to go over 1,000 for his career – Muskegon Chronicle

Girls Basketball: Saline junior Ella Stemmer went over 1,000 points for her career with 19 in a 59-31 win over Monroe – Ann Arbor News