Thank You from Second Half

January 25, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Next week will mark the one-year birthday of Second Half, our place to tell your high school sports stories.

And I thank you for helping us to such a great start.

We knew what we hoped to accomplish starting this site a year ago, but we've learned quite a bit during a relatively short time. Although we continue to pursue the mission of being home of the state’s best high school stories and a daily stop for fans, we’ll continue to experiment to figure out what you'd most like to see and how best we can continue to pass along the great things happening in MHSAA athletics.

A few things to call to your attention as we move ahead:

  • First and foremost, we strive to tell your stories – hoping to hit every sport and all regions of our state – and have some intriguing ones coming up as we get into the second half of the winter season. Stay tuned.
  • Second Half is the home for the “Battle of the Fans II.” We have visits to Buchanan and Vandercook Lake next week, followed by Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard and Zeeland East the week after. We’ll announce the winner Feb. 22. All will be found here first.
  • We've revamped our video page (see menu across the top of this screen) and will be adding more videos more regularly in the year to come.
  • After a brief hiatus, we’ll next week bring back “High 5s” featuring two athletes and a team that have done great things this season.
  • What you’re reading now is the first of a weekly “First Pitch” blog that will allow us to post more of the quick hits we run across in our regular travels. Make sure to continue checking out the twice-weekly blog by Executive Director Jack Roberts, as well as the Viewpoints and SAC Sound-Offs supplied regularly by our friends from the Michigan State University Institute for the Study of Youth Sports and the members of our Student Advisory Council, respectively.
  • We began providing in-depth statewide coverage – both previewing and then postgame reporting – of our Finals in every sport this fall, and hope to become your first and fastest source for the stories behind our championships.

We’re always looking for ideas both for stories or any other features you’d like to see – and feel free to send them directly to me at [email protected]. 

And again, thank you again for coming to our site today. We look forward to seeing you more in the year to come.

Today in the MHSAA: 2/27/23

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

February 27, 2023

1. WRESTLING Lowell ran its Finals championship streak to 10, Dundee earned its sixth-straight title, Hudson repeated as well and Detroit Catholic Central finished first for the first time since 2020 at the MHSAA Team Wrestling Finals – MHSAA.com

2. BOYS BASKETBALL Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice claimed its first Detroit Catholic League tournament championship since 1990 with a 68-63 win over Detroit U-D Jesuit – Detroit Free Press

3. BOYS BASKETBALL Hamilton delivered its first league title since 1988, claiming the Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue with a buzzer-beating win over Coopersville – WZZM

4. COMPETITIVE CHEER Allen Park moved back ahead of Gibraltar Carlson to claim a Division 2 Regional title – Southgate News-Herald

5. BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING Northville claimed the overall Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

6. COMPETITIVE CHEER Pontiac Notre Dame Prep was first and Richmond second at their Division 3 Regional – Macomb Daily

7. BOWLING The North Farmington boys and Lake Orion girls won Division 1 Regional titles, North Farmington after a just-miss a year ago – Oakland Press

8. BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING Midland Dow ran its Saginaw Valley League championship streak to four – Midland Daily News

9. BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING Battle Creek Lakeview claimed its third-straight Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference championship – Battle Creek Enquirer

10. GIRLS BASKETBALL Alix Bleau’s buzzer beater gave Big Bay de Noc a 48-45 win over Kinross Maplewood Baptist and the Northern Lights Conference championship; Maplewood clinched the boys title against Hannahville – Escanaba Daily Press

Also of note …

HOCKEY Alpena tied a program record for wins and advanced to a Division 2 Regional Final with a 5-0 shutout of Traverse City Central – Alpena News

GIRLS BASKETBALL Petoskey finished a repeat run in the Big North Conference with a 58-47 win over Traverse City Central – Petoskey News-Review

BOYS BASKETBALL Cadillac and Traverse City Central shared the Big North Conference title, and Boyne City and Traverse City St. Francis are co-champions in the Lake Michigan Conference – Traverse City Record-Eagle

GIRLS BASKETBALL Ithaca earned a share of the Tri-Valley Conference 10-2 title with a win over Saginaw Nouvel – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

BOYS BASKETBALL Durand downed Chesaning 67-56 to create a three-way championship with those two and Ovid-Elsie in the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference – Owosso Argus-Press

BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING Ludington swam to the Coastal Conference championship – Ludington Daily News

GIRLS BASKETBALL Brethren finished an outright West Michigan D League title run with a 41-40 win over Manistee Catholic Central – Ludington Daily News

BOYS BASKETBALL Gavin Pebble went over 1,000 career points in Gaylord St. Mary’s win over Johannesburg-Lewiston – Petoskey News-Review

BOYS BASKETBALL Kaden Hansel broke a 34-year-old single-game scoring record for Indian River Inland Lakes in a win over Central Lake – Cheboygan Daily Tribune