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)

Today in the MHSAA: 10/16/15

October 16, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

First-time champions are always worth noting, and we found a few in checking out today’s media reports of Thursday action statewide.

Cross Country

The Calumet girls, ranked No. 4 in Upper Peninsula Division 1, and the unranked Houghton boys won the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference finals at Chassell – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Boys Soccer

Grand Rapids Union clinched its first league title since moving from the Grand Rapids City League to the Ottawa-Kent Conference, downing Muskegon 3-0 – Grand Rapids Press

Manchester edged Hillsdale Academy 2-1 to claim its first Independent Soccer League championship after winning only one league game in 2014 – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Volleyball

Class B honorable mention Buchanan downed Class C’s top-ranked team, Bronson, in five sets, and also Class D No. 6 Mendon in five – Niles Daily Star

Class B No. 6 Mount Morris avenged a five-set loss to No. 5 Goodrich in September by sweeping the Martians to improve to 55-5-1 – Flint Journal

Zeeland West claimed its first conference title in this sport, defeating Holland Christian in five sets to claim a share of the O-K Green championship – Holland Sentinel

Good Reads

Longtime Burton Atherton leader Mary Down will become the third volleyball coach inducted into the Greater Flint Area Hall of Fame, having impacted a generation of players and more as a number of former players went on to coach as well – Flint Journal