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.
Today in the MHSAA: 3/2/20
March 2, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Four MHSAA team wrestling champions were celebrated Saturday – find coverage of all four Finals to the right – while Regional competitive cheer and bowling and league meets in boys swimming & diving added to an otherwise loaded basketball weekend across Michigan.
1. Boys Swimming & Diving: Holland West Ottawa – tied for No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – locked up its seventh-straight Ottawa-Kent Conference Red championship, finishing just ahead of No. 4 Hudsonville at the league meet – Holland Sentinel
2. Competitive Cheer: Allen Park edged Gibraltar Carlson in a Division 2 Regional that likely previewed the top contenders at this week’s Final – Southgate News-Herald
3. Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD2 honorable mention Pinckney won its first league championship, sharing the Southeastern Conference White title with No. 8 Dexter thanks to a league meet win – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
4. Bowling: The Essexville Garber girls won their first Regional title, topping runner-up Ovid-Elsie in Division 3 – Bay City Times
5. Girls Basketball: Charlevoix defeated Traverse City St. Francis to finish a Lake Michigan Conference title run, while welcoming back all-stater Elise Stuck after she missed the majority of the regular season with a knee injury – Petoskey News-Review
6. Boys Basketball: Riverview Gabriel Richard locked up its first Detroit Catholic League Tournament title since 1999 with a 63-56 win over Marine City Cardinal Mooney in the Cardinal division – State Champs Sports Network
7. Bowling: The Vandercook Lake boys and No. 7 Quincy girls won competitive Division 4 Regionals that featured the reigning team champions from Bronson; the Vikings girls are ranked No. 2 – Coldwater Daily Reporter
8. Boys Basketball: Central Montcalm clinched a share of the Central State Activities Association Gold title, its first since 2002, with a 70-48 win over Howard City Tri County – Greenville Daily News
9. Competitive Cheer: Rochester Adams outpaced Plymouth, Utica Eisenhower and Rochester to win their Division 1 Regional – Oakland Press
10. Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD1 honorable mention Zeeland won the O-K Green title by finishing first at the league meet after tying with LPD3 No. 2 Holland Christian during the dual season – Holland Sentinel
Also of note …
Boys Basketball: The Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan announced its Mr. Basketball Award finalists: Detroit Cass Tech’s Tyson Acuff, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Lorne Bowman, Benton Harbor’s Carlos Johnson, Clarkston’s Matt Nicholson and Flint Beecher’s Jalen Terry – MLive-Detroit
Girls Basketball: Ishpeming Westwood locked up both the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference East and Mid-Peninsula Conference titles with a 38-27 win over Gwinn – Marquette Mining Journal
Girls Basketball: Parma Western downed Battle Creek Harper Creek 51-35 to clinch the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference title – JTV
Boys Basketball: Orchard Lake St. Mary’s won its first Detroit Catholic League Tournament title since 2008 with a 61-54 Bishop victory over Detroit U-D Jesuit – State Champs Sports Network
Boys Basketball: Pickford edged Rudyard 71-65 to claim the Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference championship – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News
Girls Basketball: Kinde-North Huron netted a share of the North Central Thumb League Stripes title with a big win over Akron-Fairgrove – Huron Daily Tribune
Boys Basketball: Unionville-Sebewaing clinched a share of the Grater Thumb Conference West title with a 65-53 win over Bad Axe – Huron Daily Tribune
Girls Basketball: Big Rapids downed Grant 41-34 to lock up a shared CSAA Gold title with Fremont – Big Rapids News
Boys Basketball: Ovid-Elsie locked up the outright Mid-Michigan Activities Conference title with a 52-36 win over second-place New Lothrop – Mid-Michigan Now
Boys Basketball: Muskegon Western Michigan Christian and Ludington finished as co-champs in the Lakes 8 Activities Conference – Grand Haven Tribune
Girls Basketball: Alycia Patterson became Niles’ all-time leading scorer during a 28-point performance in a big win over Stevensville Lakeshore – Niles Daily Star
Boys Basketball: Brennen McNeil went over 1,000 career points with 14 in a win over Colon – Hillsdale Daily News
Football: Former Grand Rapids West Catholic coach Dan Rohn has been hired to take over Warren De La Salle Collegiate – Detroit Free Press