Alpena students text2win $50,000

January 24, 2012

Alpena High School -- and more specifically its Kids and Parents United Together (KAPUT) program -- recently received a $50,000 prize from Verizon after the school received 450,000 text votes as part of the company's TXT2WIN contest.

KAPUT provides safe events and activities for teens. Although this prize isn't specifically designated for athletics, Alpena previously has been recognized for promoting school sports. The community's CHAMPS program – Community Helping Athletes Maintain Positive Sportsmanship  -- received the MHSAA's SCOPE award in 2007.

Alpena, a Class A school with roughly 1,300 students, competed against schools from 15 states.

To read more, click on this link to The Alpena News.

Linked Up: Hill Reaches 1,000

March 4, 2013

The Ann Arbor Pioneer boys and girls swim programs have received national acclaim over the years. And at the head of those efforts has been coach Denny Hill, who celebrated his 1,000th dual meet victory last month. 

AnnArbor.com's Terry Jacoby tells us more about how Hill came to Pioneer and what he's accomplished. This former athlete's thought explains a lot of what Hill has meant to his sport and high school athletics as a whole. 

“(Hill) taught me what it meant to work hard and what it meant to push myself past the limits I had put on myself,” said Kristyne (Cole), who also swam at Michigan. “He taught me what it meant to be a part of a team and how to be a leader. Denny taught me that you should give 100 percent effort in whatever you decide to do, and that the team always comes first; whether that meant showing up to practice early to do lane lines or switching events during a meet right before that event began.”

Click to read the full report: 

Legendary Pioneer swim coach Denny Hill reaches 1,000 win milestone (AnnArbor.com)