Today in the MHSAA: 6/5/17
June 5, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
What a weekend – 30,000 Michigan high school athletes took part in championships across eight sports, with Saturday’s Track & Field and Girls Tennis again leading the busiest day of the sports school year.
Second Half covered all 18 Finals events, and links are included to those as well as to coverage of a number of Districts in baseball, softball and girls soccer.
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
No. 17 Grand Ledge lost a teammate to a car crash at the start of last fall, and won Saturday’s Division 1 District title with him in mind – Lansing State Journal
Algonac claimed its first District title since 2011 with a 4-1 win over No. 10 St. Clair and 6-4 victory over reigning District champ Marysville, in Division 1 – Port Huron Times Herald
Plymouth got past No. 6 Canton in eight innings, 7-6, for a Division 1 District title win – Observer & Eccentric
No. 2 Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett emerged from a loaded Division 1 District that included No. 13 Grosse Pointe North and Grosse Pointe South – Detroit News
No. 5 Centerville won its fourth straight District title, downing Marcellus in a Division 4 championship game – Sturgis Journal
No. 7 Midland downed No. 19 Mount Pleasant 3-2 and then beat Bay City Central 5-3 to claim its first Division 1 District title since 2011 – Midland Daily News
Girls Soccer
A Division 1 District Final rematch saw No. 2 Brighton advance again, this time 4-0 over Hartland – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Troy took No. 9 Bloomfield Hills to a shootout and emerged as a Division 1 champion with a 2-1 victory – C&G Newspapers
In Division 2, Allen Park downed Dearborn Divine Child 2-1 to clinch its first District title in the sport – Southgate News Herald
No. 19 New Baltimore Anchor Bay tied its school wins record of 17 with a 4-0 Division 1 District title win over Clinton Township Chippewa Valley – Macomb Daily
St. Clair Shores Lake Shore also won its first District title in this sport, defeating Roseville in Division 1 – Macomb Daily
Cadillac claimed its first District title in girls soccer, downing Mount Pleasant 1-0 in Division 2 to move to 19-1-1 this season – Cadillac News
Softball
Top-ranked Macomb Dakota trailed No. 9 Utica Ford by a run with one out left in their Division 1 District Final, but knocked in two runs to win 5-4 – C&G Newspapers
Jenny Bressler struck out 17 to lead No. 3 Plymouth past honorable mention Canton 2-0 in a Division 1 District Final – Observer & Eccentric
No. 4 Rogers City claimed its sixth straight District crown, downing No. 10 Hillman 7-1 in a Division 4 championship game – Alpena News
No. 8 Ottawa Lake Whiteford got past honorable mention Morenci 3-2 in eight innings for a Division 4 District title – Adrian Daily Telegram
Girls Tennis
The four Lower Peninsula Finals were packed with excitement, led by a near-perfect score by Detroit Country Day in Division 3 and a tie for the Division 1 title between powerhouses Midland Dow and Northville. East Grand Rapids in Division 2 and Ann Arbor Greenhills in Division 4 also were victorious – Second Half
Track & Field
A dramatic run to the Lower Peninsula Division 1 girls title by Ann Arbor Pioneer and Southfield Christian’s first championship in the sport were among highlights of many Saturday. Lansing Waverly, Adrian Madison, Marquette, St. Ignace and Lake Linden-Hubbell also won MHSAA girls track & field titles – Second Half
Final dominating performances from stars like East Kentwood’s Khance Meyers and Corunna’s Noah Jacobs were among storylines from the seven boys Finals, which saw Meyers’ Falcons, Zeeland East, Chesaning, Whittemore-Prescott, Marquette, Newberry and Rapid River claim the team titles – Second Half
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