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.
Network Loaded with Playoff Action
November 3, 2020
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
To say there’s a lot of great high school action in the coming week on the MHSAA.tv, MHSAANetwork.com and FOXSportsDetroit.com websites is an understatement.
More Girls Volleyball Tournament action than ever before runs throughout a week culminating with more than 50 Football Playoff games, the Boys Soccer Finals and two days of Cross Country Finals.
The Lower Peninsula Cross Country Finals will take place Friday and Saturday (Nov. 6-7) at Michigan International Speedway, with a modified format. There will be two heats in each division for each gender. The first race will include third-place Regional team finishers and individual qualifiers, with the second race made up of teams that finished first or second at Regionals.
The Cross Country coverage is enhanced this year with an additional camera on the back of the course to better capture the first 800 meters, and the 1.5-mile and 2.25-mile marks of the race. The traditional Finish Line camera also will cover the action, with commentary from a crew of announcers.
Here’s the schedule:
Friday – Nov. 6
Division 1 Finals - Boys at 9:30 and 10 a.m. - Girls at 11 and 11:30 a.m.
Division 2 Finals - Boys at 1:30 and 2 p.m. - Girls at 3 and 3:30 p.m.
Saturday – Nov. 7
Division 3 Finals - Boys at 9:30 and 10 a.m. - Girls at 11 and 11:30 a.m.
Division 4 Finals - Boys at 1:30 and 2 p.m. - Girls at 3 and 3:30 p.m.
On Saturday the Boys Soccer Finals will have live audio and video streaming of its championship games from Novi and Comstock Park High Schools. Two games will be played at each site with the game times set for Noon and 3 p.m. The finalists will be determined following Semifinal play on Wednesday (Nov. 4), with all four of those games being streaming live video on MHSAA.tv and live audio on MHSAANetwork.com.
Lots of Football Playoff games will take place beginning Friday evening with three featured games as part of the FOX Sports Detroit “Game of the Week” and the FOX Sports Prep Zone. All of these games can be seen on FoxSportsDetroit.com and on FOX Sports Go! for handheld and streaming devices like Roku. Here are this weekend games:
- Hudsonville at Rockford – Prep Zone – Friday, 7 p.m.
- Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central at Muskegon Mona Shores – Prep Zone – Friday, 7 p.m.
- Clinton Twp. Chippewa Valley at Rochester Hills Stoney Creek – FOX Sports Detroit “Game of the Week” – Friday, 7:30 p.m.
MHSAA.tv will play host to more than 50 District Semifinal Football Playoff games over the weekend, most produced by participants in the School Broadcast Program with traditional student crews or Pixellot units. The NFHS Network is providing bonus coverage of one additional game on Friday – Bath at Laingsburg. Here’s the complete schedule:
Friday - Nov. 6
Suttons Bay vs. Whittemore-Prescott - 6 PM
Whitehall vs. Coopersville - 6 PM
Montrose vs. Chesaning - 6:40 PM
Adrian Lenawee Christian vs. Mayville - 6:50 PM
DeWitt vs. Lansing Waverly - 6:50 PM
Lowell vs. Caledonia - 6:55 PM
Belleville vs. Northville - 7 PM
Birmingham Seaholm vs. Birmingham Groves - 7 PM
Brownstown Woodhaven vs. Dearborn - 7 PM
Cadillac vs. Alma - 7 PM
Cass City vs. Sandusky - 7 PM
Charlevoix vs. Mancelona - 7 PM
Corunna vs. Richmond - 7 PM
Detroit Catholic Central vs. Novi - 7 PM
East Grand Rapids vs. Holland - 7 PM
East Lansing vs. Portage Central - 7 PM
Fenton vs. North Farmington - 7 PM
Frankenmuth vs. Almont - 7 PM
Freeland vs. Midland Bullock Creek - 7 PM
Grand Rapids Catholic Central vs. Belding - 7 PM
Ithaca vs. Ravenna - 7 PM
Laingsburg vs. Bath - 7 PM
Madison Heights Lamphere vs. Sterling Heights Chandler Park - 7 PM
Manistee vs. Grayling - 7 PM
Maple City Glen Lake vs. Boyne City - 7 PM
Mason vs. Fowlerville - 7 PM
Millington vs. Mt Morris - 7 PM
Muskegon Mona Shores vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central - 7 PM – FOX Sports Prep Zone
New Lothrop vs. Burton Bendle - 7 PM
Ortonville Brandon vs. Goodrich - 7 PM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. Detroit Country Day - 7 PM
Portage Northern vs. Battle Creek Lakeview - 7 PM
Redford Union vs. Livonia Clarenceville - 7 PM
Riverview Gabriel Richard vs. Jackson Lumen Christi - 7 PM
Rockford vs. Hudsonville - 7 PM – FOX Sports Prep Zone
Romulus Summit Academy North vs. Dearborn Heights Robichaud - 7 PM
Saline vs. Ann Arbor Huron - 7 PM
South Lyon vs. Walled Lake Western - 7 PM
St. Joseph vs. Battle Creek Harper Creek - 7 PM
Traverse City Central vs. Swartz Creek - 7 PM
West Bloomfield vs. Troy - 7 PM
White Lake Lakeland vs. Howell - 7 PM
Zeeland West vs. Middleville Thornapple Kellogg - 7 PM
Rochester Hills Stoney Creek vs. Clinton Twp. Chippewa Valley - 7:30 PM – FOX Sports Detroit Game of Week
Saturday - Nov. 7
Traverse City St. Francis vs. Harbor Springs - 12 PM
Hemlock vs. Bad Axe - 1 PM
Kinde North Huron vs. Peck - 1 PM
Kingsley vs. Gladwin - 1 PM
Midland vs. Midland Dow - 1 PM
Pewamo-Westphalia vs. North Muskegon - 1 PM
Reed City vs. Kingsford - 1 PM
Stevensville Lakeshore vs. Coldwater - 1 PM
Mount Pleasant vs. Marquette - 2 PM
Girls Volleyball District Semifinals and Finals take place Wednesday through Saturday (Nov. 3-7). Separate releases will be issued with detailed Semifinal and Final coverage.
This week, more 250 events at all levels in a variety of sports will be available on the NFHS Network/MHSAA.TV. Monthly subscriptions are $10.99. Click for a complete list of upcoming games, and for a complete list of on-demand games.
Fans also can type their school name into the search field on the MHSAA.tv page to search for events. Varsity games being streamed also have links from the MHSAA Website’s Score Center, and from the schedules on individual school pages. Clicking on the green TV set icon listed next to an event will take you directly to a game. You can also watch on Roku enabled devices.
Now in its 12th year, the School Broadcast Program gives members an opportunity to showcase excellence in their schools by creating video programming of athletic and non-athletic events with students gaining skills in announcing, camera operation, directing/producing and graphics. Pixellot – The NFHS Network’s automated streaming solution – is used by schools wishing to live stream games, but lacking the ability to staff the events. The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.
NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $10.99 a month. Subscribers will have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. All content becomes available for free, on-demand viewing 72 hours after being shown live. A portion of every subscription sold by an SBP school goes to benefit its program.
A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website.