Today in the MHSAA: 6/12/17

June 12, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

MHSAA champions in Lower Peninsula boys golf and girls and boys lacrosse were crowned Saturday as the 2016-17 school year turned into its final week. The final eight spots in the Girls Soccer Semifinals also were determined Friday, with 32 quarterfinalists in baseball and softball earning their way in Saturday Regionals.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Baseball

Corunna claimed its first Regional title since 2005, downing No. 12 Fowlerville in Division 2 after the Gladiators had eliminated No. 5 DeWitt earlier in the day – Owosso Argus-Press

Rochester scored eight runs during the seventh inning to win a Division 1 Regional Final over No. 5 Birmingham Brother Rice – C&G Newspapers

No. 10 Gaylord St. Mary scored most in an offensive shootout, downing No. 9 Maple City Glen Lake 13-10 in a Division 4 Regional Final – Gaylord Herald-Times

No. 12 Saginaw Heritage shut out No. 7 Midland 3-0 to finish a Division 1 Regional title run – Midland Daily News

Macomb Lutheran North hit three home runs in upsetting No. 2 Detroit Country Day 19-5 in a Division 2 Regional Final – Macomb Daily

No. 4 Homer put up five runs in the sixth inning to get past Michigan Center 7-6 in Division 3 – Jackson Citizen Patriot

No. 14 Holt downed Howell 3-1 and then No. 17 Grand Ledge 5-4 to claim its first Regional title, in Division 1 – Lansing State Journal

Boys Golf

Detroit Catholic Central claimed its third straight Division 1 title, St. Johns repeated in Division 2 and Clarkston Everest Collegiate repeated in Division 4, and Jackson Lumen Christi returned to the top of Division 3 at Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Finals – Second Half

Boys Lacrosse

Birmingham Brother Rice won its 13th straight Division 1 title, again over rival Detroit Catholic Central, while East Grand Rapids won the Division 2 title over rival Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central – Second Half

Girls Lacrosse

In one of the all-time thrillers in MHSAA lacrosse history, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood downed East Grand Rapids in overtime for the Division 2 title, while Rockford added its fifth straight championship in Division 1 – Second Half

Girls Soccer

Top-ranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central jumped out to a three-goal lead and didn’t look back in a 3-1 Semifinal win over No. 2 Brighton in Division 1 – Grand Rapids Press

No. 7 Linden edged reigning Division 2 champion and current No. 3 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep to advance to this week – Flint Journal

Saline and No. 11 Plymouth went into a shootout scoreless, but the Hornets emerged victorious in Division 1 – Saline Post

Top-ranked Flint Powers advanced in Division 3 with a 5-0 win over No. 16 Lansing Catholic – Flint Journal

No. 8 Macomb Lutheran North also advanced in Division 3 with a shootout win over No. 5 Grosse Ile – Southgate News Herald

No. 3 Freeland won a fourth straight Regional title, downing Charlevoix 5-0 in Division 3 – Saginaw News

Top-ranked Lansing Christian won its fifth straight Regional title, downing No. 14 Manchester 4-1 in Division 4 – MLive-Lansing

Top-ranked Bloomfield Hills Marian remained undefeated with a 2-0 Division 2 win over No. 6 Dexter – Observer & Eccentric

Softball

Shepherd downed Pinconning and then beat No. 8 Beaverton 8-7 in a Division 3 Regional Final – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Reigning Division 2 champion and current No. 2 Richmond needed nine innings but downed honorable mention Detroit Country Day 2-1 in a Division 2 Regional Final – Port Huron Times Herald

Twice No. 6 Holton rallied in seventh innings Saturday, the second time in an 8-7 win over Beal City, to claim a Division 4 Regional title – Muskegon Chronicle

No. 5 Mattawan downed No. 2 Howell in a Division 1 Regional for the third straight season – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Alicia Ascencio’s three-run walk-off homer pushed Garden City past Grosse Pointe North in a Division 1 Regional Final – Observer & Eccentric

No. 6 Stevensville Lakeshore gave up two runs total in wins over No. 4 Vicksburg and Edwardsburg to claim the Division 2 title – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

No. 5 Coleman advanced to a third straight Division 4 Quarterfinal with a 12-6 win over honorable mention Morrice – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Mendon won its first Regional title since 1992, downing Camden-Frontier, after entering the postseason with a sub-.500 record – Sturgis Journal

Today in the MHSAA: 12/20/18

December 20, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

Teams are getting in their final competitions before at least a brief holiday break, and we’re taking one too after today’s list – “Today” will return Jan. 7, although Second Half will continue publishing stories from all over the state during the final week of December and first of January.  

1. Boys Basketball: Gaylord St. Mary broke a 31-game, 14-year losing streak to Bellaire with a 29-26 win – Gaylord Herald Times

2. Boys Basketball: Camden-Frontier improved to 7-0 by handing a first loss to Reading, 57-46 – Hillsdale Daily News

3. Hockey: Evan MacDonald had a hat trick as Division 1 No. 5 Brighton downed reigning Division 3 runner-up Livonia Churchill 4-1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

4. Boys Basketball: Mancelona gave Pellston its first loss of this season, 67-65 – Petoskey News-Review

5. Girls Basketball: Waterford Our Lady made a late run to get past Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 61-56 – Oakland Press

6. Wrestling: Grand Haven came back from a 24-0 deficit to defeat Caledonia 39-33 – Grand Haven Tribune

7. Gymnastics: Escanaba remained undefeated to start the season with wins over Marquette and Negaunee – Escanaba Daily Press

8. Boys Basketball: Portland St. Patrick closed on a 22-5 run to beat Fowler 52-42 – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

9. Hockey: Brendan Pellerito had 34 saves as Mattawan shut out Portage Northern 4-0 – JoeInsider.com

10. Wrestling: Division 4 top-ranked Hudson earned a pair of league wins over Blissfield and Onsted – Adrian Daily Telegram

Also of note …

Hockey: The status of high school hockey is on the rise with talent evaluators at the game’s next levels – Observer & Eccentric

Tennis: Longtime coach Paul Bandrowski retired after leading Traverse City St. Francis’ girls and boys teams to a number of strong MHSAA Finals finishes – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Girls Basketball: From Tuesday, Eaton Rapids came back to stun Jackson Northwest 44-41, but the Mounties’ Sydney Shafer went over 1,000 career points – Jackson Citizen Patriot

Boys Swimming & Diving: From Tuesday, Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 2 Ann Arbor Skyline edged LPD2 top-ranked Dexter 95-90 – We Love Ann Arbor