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: 1/16/20

January 16, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A major matchup of two of the Upper Peninsula’s best in girls basketball and a streak-ending performance on the wrestling mat highlight Wednesday’s headliners from across the state.

1. Girls Basketball: St. Ignace handed Pickford its first loss this season, 70-48, in a rematch from last season’s District – MI Sports Now

2. Wrestling: Union City earned its first win over Springport since 2009, 42-33, to make a major move in the Big 8 Conference – Coldwater Daily Reporter

3. Wrestling: No. 3 Brighton earned a big win over No. 4 Hartland, although the Eagles were missing a number of starters because of illness – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

4. Girls Basketball: Lauren Laures became the second 1,000-point scorer in Pinconning history in leading her team to a 37-20 win over Gladwin – Bay City Times

5. Girls Basketball: Jayden Weber also went over 1,000 points for her career in leading East Jordan past Central Lake 63-46 – Petoskey News-Review

6. Girls Basketball: Manistee Catholic Central delivered Walkerville’s first loss this season, 46-40 – MI Sports Now

7. Boys Basketball: Traverse City St. Francis won a matchup of league leaders, 40-32 – Up North Live

8. Wrestling: Also in the Big 8, Reading edged Jonesville 42-39 in a matchup of league contenders – Hillsdale Daily News

9. Boys Basketball: Reese came back from an early 14-point deficit to get past Bad Axe 61-56 in overtime – Bay City Times

10. Hockey: White Lake Lakeland won a high-scoring matchup 6-5 over Milford – Oakland Press