Today in the MHSAA: 8/30/17

August 30, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

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

Today's Top 10

1. Girls Swimming & Diving: Holland West Ottawa, ranked No. 5 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, got past honorable mention Zeeland 108-78 – Holland Sentinel

2. Cross Country: The Fremont boys and Allendale girls won races at the Don Anderson Trail Run at Grand Haven, with the host finishing runner-up in both meets – Grand Haven Tribune

3. Volleyball: Bay City Western became the first two-time champion of the fifth-year Bay County Volleyball Championship, downing Essexville Garber in the final – Bay City Times

4. Volleyball: Freeland went 5-0-2 overall in winning its invitational, downing Birch Run in the championship match after splitting with the Panthers earlier – Midland Daily News

5. Volleyball: Pellston is up to No. 7 in the Class D poll and continued to impress with a sweep of Harbor Springs to improve to 7-3-4 – Petoskey News-Review

6. Girls Golf: Midland Dow opened its match season with three wins and a score of 171, led by Alexis Carras’ 39 – Midland Daily News

7. Boys Soccer: Plymouth shut out Grand Blanc, a Division 1 Regional finalist last season, 3-0 – Detroit News

8. Boys Soccer: Buckley, a Division 4 District champ last year, improved to 5-0 with a 3-0 win over Kalkaska – Cadillac News

9. Boys Soccer: Lincoln Alcona, another reigning Division 4 District champ, earned a 5-2 win over Saginaw Nouvel as record-setting keeper Conner McCoy had 25 saves – Alpena News

10. Football: Jack Schugars remains the 20th-winningest coach in MHSAA football history after building a 262-78 record at Muskegon Oakridge from 1979-2010, and he’s back on the sidelines assisting his son Eric at Traverse City Central – Muskegon Chronicle

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