Irish Celebrate Homecoming Sky High
October 4, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
You’ve got to see this – from high in the sky – to believe it.
The disappointing news for Pontiac Notre Dame Prep from its Homecoming game last Friday was that the Fighting Irish fell to Detroit Catholic League AA leader Detroit Loyola by seven points.
But the Irish will remember fondly (and probably click on frequently) the video of this sky high view of the game including the team’s entrance to the field.
Thanks to a camera attached to a helicopter-like apparatus flown by local Aerial Imagery Works, Notre Dame was able to capture a rarely-seen view. See more by watching the brief video embedded at the bottom of this post.
SLC-TV Rolls 300
It's fair to assume few television stations in Michigan have been as dedicated to the local football team as South Lyon's SLC-TV, which will celebrate a milestone broadcast Oct. 11 when South Lyon faces South Lyon East.
SLC-TV has followed South Lyon football home and away games for 31 years and will broadcast its 300th game that night. SLC-TV’s games appear on WOW network channel 19 and Comcast Southfield channel 90, which reaches 33 communities in metro Detroit.
Sports director Tedd Wallace will have done play-by-play for 298 of those games, and said he believes no station in America has done TV broadcasts of a team’s home and away games as consistently. Check out more about the network’s weekly work on its Facebook page.
Friendly gesture to opponent in need
One of the most heart-warming parts of following high school sports is experiencing the camaraderie among athletes from opposing teams they likely know nothing about except for what they learn during competition.
Concord’s volleyball team shined especially brightly in this way last week.
Amazingly, Union City junior Marissa Mead played in her team’s match against Concord on Sept. 24 despite her home being destroyed by a fire that morning. As told by the Jackson Citizen-Patriot’s Leanne Smith, Concord’s players had heard about the tragic event and were surprised to then see Mead take her place as defensive specialist that night.
On the bus ride home, the Concord players decided they needed to do something to help Mead and her family. As a team, the players collected $80 – and then pushed the total to $300 with the help of teachers, parents and administrators. They delivered the funds in a card to Mead at Union City’s home match two days later.
It’s a gesture that might seem small, but speaks loudly to the awesome way our athletes relate to each other not just on, but off the court as well. Click to read the entire report.
Official of the Year
Marcy Weston, Central Michigan University’s Executive Associate Director of Athletics/Sports Administration and a longtime contributor to MHSAA officiating initiatives, has been named the Naismith Women’s College Official of the Year.
Weston spoke at the 2001 MHSAA Officials Banquet and has served as part of the association's officials committee and with the National Federation of State High School Associations as a liaison to its Basketball Rules Committee.
She also served as NCAA national coordinator of women’s basketball officiating from 1991-2005 after working as a women’s college basketball official from 1964-84. Click to read more from CMUChippewas.com.
Glen Lake Grad Adds Pacific Ocean to Life's Journey in Completing World's Toughest Row
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
August 18, 2026
Julie (Adams) Bennett has lots of memories from her days at Glen Lake High School. Many are great, some not so great.
And, while she took all of them with her as she just rowed across the Pacific Ocean, her battle with anorexia was at the top.
“In our culture, thin is beautiful, and it always has been,” said Bennett, a 1982 Lakers graduate. “We grew up in the '70s with all of the magazines and all of the thin models. I was kind of a fat kid in junior high. You know, you get a little chunky, and then you grow taller. Well, I got chunky, but I never grew taller.”
Bennett found herself in a battle with anorexia, leading her to raise funds and awareness for the National Eating Disorders Association as she recently competed in and completed the World's Toughest Row. The crossing occurred after more than a year of preparation, and NEDA was one of four organizations the team supported as part of taking on the challenge.
“I was teased a lot for my weight in high school,” recalled Bennett, who experienced hurtful name-calling. “It isn't the only reason why I became anorexic, but I did. I know people who don't recover from anorexia. It takes their life. I was one of the lucky ones”
Bennett was a middle distance runner on the Lakers track team and a key member of the cheer team. Fall was spent supporting the football team and winter the basketball team as Title IX was just starting to impact sports opportunities for girls.
“When I was in junior high, there were no competitive girl sports,” Bennett said. “I know a lot of people look at cheerleading and think ‘oh they're just fluffy girls who are really girly and just want to cheer.’ But every summer, we did competitive cheer camps.”
Bennett picked up rowing when her youngest son, Steven, joined the sport as a freshman in high school in the Grand Rapids area. It wasn’t long before she began coaching adults and kids in the sport after years of teaching group fitness and yoga.
Bennett points to positive role models, like her mother, Pam, and multiple coaches, as having played significant roles in her battle with overcoming anorexia.
“They really put me on a path to make wise decisions about the food that I eat and about physical fitness,” she said. “So I had always just had a much healthier relationship with exercising and food than I could have. I mean, I could have gone off the rails.”
Bennett believes high school sports allow student-athletes learn discipline. It was that same discipline that helped her complete the 2,800-mile trip across the Pacific Ocean just a few weeks ago.
Bennett, along Erin Enk-Wiese, Susan Katt and Jak Kazmarek, left Monterey, Calif., on June 9 after a five-day weather delay. The four rowers landed 40 days later in Kauai, Hawaii.
The average crossing time for crews of all sizes over the history of the World’s Toughest Row is 62 days. The first boat to conquer the world’s deepest ocean this year took 36 days. Bennett’s team, Moar Than Us, was thrilled the trip was pretty much free of challenging weather, injury and other significant incidents.
“The discipline of sports, and the coaching that I got, was what really set me on a path to – not just for rowing, but it really just set me on a path – to be disciplined about my physical fitness,” she said. “You really need the discipline, but you don't think that you do, because you think you know everything when you're 16. All of that discipline really, really helped me mentally and physically and put me on a journey of lifelong physical fitness.”
Bennett’s crew took turns taking two-hour shifts in daylight and three-year shifts in the dark. The boat always had two in the rowing seats and two below resting and recovering. They did start and finish the race with all four crew members playing a role up top.
Bennett, who went on the graduate from Hope College and land her first teaching job at Glen Lake, is quick to identify the key to coaching high school sports today, especially rowing. She’s on the coaching staff of the Grand Rapids Rowing Club, one of just a small number of high school-sponsored rowing clubs in Michigan.
“You teach them to love the sport, and then you teach them how to do it,” Bennett said. “You have to teach them how to love it. I was an endurance person and rowing certainly is an endurance sport.”
Rowing is a natural sport for the 5-foot-4 former Laker, despite her undergoing hip replacement during her 40s.
She fondly remembers her track experience at Glen Lake. While she mostly ran the 400 and 800 along with relays, her coaches entered her in all field events in hopes she could pick up a point or two.
“I don't have quick-twitch muscles, so I was not good enough to be in the sprints, but I ran sprint relays,” acknowledged Bennett. “Because we were a small team, if there was a third place to be had, coaches would throw me in. I threw shot put a couple of times. I remember throwing shot put against Mesick. They could throw it twice as far, but I got the point in third.”
Bennett noted the Pacific crossing annually attracts sailors and navigators, along with a few others.
“It also attracts just people who are adrenaline junkies,” she said. “People who just want that jolt from doing something amazing.”
Bennett though, did it for other reasons, including raising awareness for anorexia.
“The best message that you can give somebody is that you can be any age, any gender, any size, and do it,” she said. “You can do difficult things, and you shouldn't shortchange yourself by not being mentally ready for that challenge.”
2026 Made In Michigan
Aug. 13: Basketball Takes 'The Judge' Worldwide, Home Again as Love of Game Lives On - Report
Aug. 11: Nearly 25 Years After Leading Unexpected Run, Morton Directing Life-Changing Mission - Report
Aug. 7: Significance of Historic Run, Relationships Formed Live On for 1973 Unity Champs - Report
Aug. 4: Work Ethic Continues to Drive Van Dyk's Endeavors as Co-Owner of Family Farm - Report
July 24: Hackett Mentor's Care Sparked Lifetime in Hoops for BCAM President White - Report
July 24: Mackey Leaving Court with 500+ College Hoops Wins, Many More Lessons Shared - Report
July 16: Country Day Two-Time Champ Moore Building Perennial Winner at Harvard - Report
July 9: Multi-Sport Career at TC West Helps Gillis Thrive as Pro in Game She Once Left Behind - Report
July 2: Inspired by Home, Eager to Give Back, Spencer Hosts Hoop City Alumni Games - Report
PHOTOS (Top) At left, Julie Bennett stands in formation with her Glen Lake cheer team in 1979. At right, Bennett stands next to a sign explaining the accomplishment after completing the Pacific Ocean crossing with her crewmates. (Middle) Bennett, front row and fourth from left, poses for a team photo with her high school track team. (Below) The Moar Than US team rows toward Hawaii, and celebrates its accomplishment. (Glen Lake photos courtesy of the Glen Lake yearbook staff. Moar Than US photos courtesy of World's Toughest Row, More Than US team and Bennett family.)