Today in the MHSAA: 9/18/19
September 18, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Zeeland girls swimming & diving team and Brighton boys and Northville girls cross country teams are among many who have made big impressions this fall, and they are followed on today's list by a number of others starting to make state poll voters take notice.
1. Girls Swimming & Diving: Unranked Zeeland continued its extraordinary start to this season, this time defeating Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 4 Rockford 100-86 – Holland Sentinel
2. Cross Country: The LPD1 top-ranked Brighton boys defeated No. 8 Salem and No. 14 Northville, and the No. 3 Northville girls beat No. 4 Salem in a tie-breaker and also No. 8 Brighton as powerhouse programs clashed at Huron Meadows – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
3. Volleyball: Division 2 No. 2 Hamilton got past honorable mention Holland Christian in four sets, the fourth going to 32-30 – Holland Sentinel
4. Boys Soccer: Unranked Rochester Adams earned an impressive draw against Division 1 No. 10 Berkley – Oakland Press
5. Boys Soccer: Dexter moved into first place alone in the Southeastern Conference White with a 2-1 win over now second-place Tecumseh – Chelsea Sun Times News
6: Boys Soccer: Traverse City West earned a key Big North Conference win 7-0 over Division 2 No. 14 Alpena – Alpena News
7. Volleyball: Mount Pleasant moved to 22-4-1 with a sweep of Midland – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
8. Boys Soccer: Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard scored late to get past Ann Arbor Greenhills 1-0 and improve to 8-2-1 – We Love Ann Arbor
9. Volleyball: Division 3 honorable mention Manistique lost the first set by two but won the next three to get past Gwinn – Escanaba Daily Press
10. Boys Tennis: Brownstown Woodhaven and Trenton both remain unbeaten as the Downriver League contenders tied 4-4 – Southgate News-Herald
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