Michel Finishes with Story to Tell
June 11, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Andrew Michel received the heart-breaking news only moments before leaving his golf team’s Regional on Friday to get ready for that night’s Brownstown-Woodhaven prom.
But missing making the MHSAA Finals by a stroke was not the first thing he shared with those who asked about his day at West Shore Golf and Country Club in Grosse Ile.
Instead, the graduating senior told of the 132-yard shot he dropped for a hole-in-one on the par-3 12th hole, his second ace but first in competition.
Michel finished with a season-best 76, missing the cut for this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final by a stroke despite firing another eagle during the final holes of his round.
“At the start of the day, I told myself don’t leave anything on the table. Go for it on every hole, make every shot and just have fun at your last tournament,” Michel said Tuesday afternoon as he readied for that night’s graduation ceremony. “Being a senior, I went for everything.”
The best part might’ve been how he came back from a disappointing previous hole.
Michel had just finished off a triple bogey on No. 11, and admitted he was down on himself. He stepped to the next tee with his pitching wedge, and “I didn’t really care what happened. I chose the club I like to hit on that hole, and in the air I was thinking it was really good,” he said.
The ball touched down on the green and spun back into the hole.
Michel also played golf and soccer at Brownstown-Woodhaven. He’ll attend Grand Valley State University in the fall, study engineering, and will try to walk-on the Lakers’ golf team.
“Deep down inside,” he said he’s disappointed he won’t be playing at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West on Friday. But he’s got a quite a highlight to take with him from his final high school round.
“It was very bittersweet. I really wanted to go to state,” Michel said. “But the hole-in-one balanced it out a bit.”
Eye on the official
Hopefully you caught our MHSAA benchmarks piece (also published on Second Half) on longtime official Lamont Simpson, who has worked not only MHSAA Finals but NCAA tournaments and is one of 32 officials in the WNBA. (Here’s the link in case you missed it.)
He also became that league’s first to wear the referee cam, debuting the new gear during a recent game between the Phoenix Mercury and Indiana Fever.
The camera provides plenty of ref’s-eye views. Click the video below to check it out.
Wheels of Steele
We’ve been watching the inspiring progress of Frankenmuth runner Bobby Steele especially over the last few years as his story became known across the Lower Peninsula.
Steele, who is visually impaired, has run cross country and track for the Eagles, thanks to the help of guides who ran with him to help him stay on course.
If you haven’t heard Steele’s awesome story, check out this 8-minute video. Not only did Steele run, but he cut roughly 12 minutes off his first cross country times over the course of his career.
Kearsley Girls Repeat with Rivalry Win, Northview Boys Claim 1st Title
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 4, 2022
CANTON – It’s hard to create rivalries in bowling with how fickle the sport can be and how different teams win so often. But the Flint Kearsley and Mason girls programs have appeared to start a nice rivalry in Division 2.
Two years ago in the semifinals, Mason ended Kearsley’s six-year run as state champion en route to winning it all.
Last year, Kearsley avenged that loss, beating Mason in the championship match to reclaim the throne.
The team portion of the 2022 MHSAA Division 2 Finals turned out to be a three-peat, with Kearsley and Mason once again squaring off in the championship match.
This one ended up going to Kearsley, which rallied from a 25-pin deficit after the two Baker games to earn a 1,178-1,143 victory over the Bulldogs and claim its seventh Division 2 Finals title in eight years.
“I do know the long history between Mason and Kearsley,” said Hornets first-year head coach Kailee Tubbs as she and her team wiped away tears of joy during the celebration. “I think it’s one of those things where we really look forward every year to facing them.”
Kearsley beat Mason 850-790 in the regular game to prevail, with Lydia Boggs setting the pace with a 191. The Hornets finished first in the qualifying block and stayed hot through the final to earn a wire-to-wire victory.
“I just wanted them to stay loose,” Tubbs said. “The biggest thing was having them relax.”
Mason head coach Russ Whipple said it’s been a lot of fun establishing a rivalry with a program like Kearsley, but that it just wasn’t meant to be for his team in the regular game.
“We were right there at the end and didn’t have a couple of things fall our way,” Whipple said. “I don’t think either team scored exceptionally well that last game. It was just one of those things, and it’s how it goes.”
In the boys competition, Grand Rapids Northview won its first Finals title in what also was a wire-to-wire victory.
The Wildcats finished first out of the qualifying block and kept their rhythm throughout, earning a 1,287-1,229 win over Tecumseh in the championship match.
“We’ve made it to match play the last three years and been knocked out in the first round,” Northview head coach Harold Klukowski said. “This one is special. I brought the same exact team back from last year and the state didn’t recognize the guys. We came from unranked to No. 1.”
Just like the Kearsley girls, Northview rallied after trailing going into the regular game.
Tecumseh held an eight-pin lead after the two Baker games, but Northview won the regular game 929-863 with David Frey at 217 leading three Wildcats above 200.
“Experience and trust,” Klukowski described as the difference this year. “The guys didn’t bite, and they didn’t bicker. They listened to the coaches, and they executed. It was a grind in the Bakers. The guys struggled to find their shot early. After that, they settled in and made good shots.”
Tecumseh was making its second appearance in the championship match in four years after also finishing runner-up in 2019.
Despite coming up short of a title, there’s a lot of reason for optimism for Tecumseh with a sophomore-dominated lineup and only one senior.
“We were in the final four last year, so another step closer,” Tecumseh head coach Eric Wigner said. “We’ll just keep working at it, and hopefully next year will be our year.”
The Kearsley girls earned a 1,125-1,109 win over St. Clair Shores Lake Shore in a quarterfinal before defeating Carleton Airport in the semifinals, 1,264-1,220.
The Northview boys downed 2021 champion Dearborn Divine Child in the quarterfinals, 1,460-1,331, before earning a 1,347-1,323 win over Jackson Northwest in the semifinals.
PHOTOS (Top) The Flint Kearsley girls team huddles after repeating as Division 2 champion Friday. (Middle) The Grand Rapids Northview boys celebrate their first title. (Click for more from Champions Photography.)