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.
Heston Football Celebrates 1st League Title as Seniors Cap Extraordinary Rise
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
November 5, 2025
St. Helen Charlton Heston Academy finished this football season with a five-game winning streak and in possession of a trophy representing the school’s first North Star League Big Dipper championship in any sport.
The feat is especially incredible considering where the Patriots’ football program stood just four years ago.
Those Patriots welcomed a new assistant coach who would soon take over the program, but also five freshmen – Dylan Chichowski, Owen Romancky, Corbin Greenless, Desyln Klumpp and Tiernan Hinmon – in the starting lineup.
“If you rewind the clock, and go back to, like 2022, we went four straight games without even scoring a point,” said third-year head coach Matt Whelchel, who joined the staff that fall. “So to come from that and fast forward to this year, those (five) have been assistant coaches almost to me. They've really led this program to where it is right now.”
Those five seniors were part of a team than snapped a 43-game program losing streak as sophomores. They then led the Patriots to a 4-5 finish last year and 6-2 overall record this fall – with an undefeated run through league play. Heston was not eligible for the MHSAA Playoffs in 8-player because its enrollment exceeds the 215-student maximum to compete in the postseason. But Whelchel noted that the school remains ecstatic about what the team accomplished.
Before turning the program around last year, the Patriots found wearing jerseys to school on game days more than a little difficult.
“We would not get made fun of, but when we talked about having a football game or had our jerseys on and we were in that losing situation, it wasn't a very prideful thing,” noted Klumpp, the team’s kicker, running back and receiver. “You're wearing a football jersey, and everyone else thinks that you're just a joke because we never win.
“And being able to turn that around, people, you know, just mentioning how fun the football games have been to watch. It's also been something we had to fight through.”
Klumpp, Greenless, Romancky and Chichowski also experienced a winless season as eighth-graders as Whelchel served the school as the middle school head coach and varsity assistant. Whelchel took over the varsity program in 2023.
The players credit Whelchel with instilling an offseason work ethic. The focus on studying film, spending time in the weight room and dedication to maintaining mental and physical health were also among keys to the Patriots’ turnaround.
“Our senior class had it extra hard starting out from middle school,” said Romancky, who played on both the offensive and defensive lines. “I think after our freshman year, once we lost every game, the drive to win the first one just became very apparent and we really took that step forward.”
Whelchel is quick to point out the school had had a good deal of talent over its 11 years of football history. Dedication, though, is at an all-time high for the Patriots.
“I have no doubts in my mind that we had players in the past that wanted to win, but you've got to have more than that,” said Whelchel, who also serves as an elementary physical education teacher. “We had talent sometimes – we just didn't have the drive. You've got to have more than the will to win. You got to spend time in the weight room and keep grades up – and it takes a lot of dedication.”
Whelchel also credits his coaching staff for much of the Patriots’ success. The assistant coaches are Jory Klumpp, Graham Church, Liam McKeage and Nathaniel Snyder.
Heston always has found community support for football, but things are a little different nowadays. The varsity players are often asked for autographs from youth football kids.
“The community has always had our back — even last year, coming into some of our home games without a winning season — we always had our stands full and stuff,” said Chichowski, the team’s quarterback. “And this year, as I work out of school during the day, everybody who comes in is asking about the game, when it starts, and just telling us that they're going to be there and stuff. It's awesome.”
Chichowski racked up 1,076 passing yards and threw 12 touchdown passes. He also had four rushing TDs and 308 yards rushing for 1,384 total offensive yards. He was named to the Big Dipper’s all-conference team, as was Klumpp, Romancky, Tiernan Hinmon and Corbin Greenless.
Greenless, a senior lineman, led team in tackles with 114 plus six sacks. He added defensive touchdowns via a blocked punt and an interception.
Hinmon, also a senior, led the team in touchdowns scored with 18. Twelve were on the ground, where he compiled 780 rushing yards. He also came through with a pick six against Au Gres-Sims in the fourth quarter of Heston’s 43-6 season-concluding victory.
Romancky, who also had interception return touchdowns against Hillman and Whittemore-Prescott, admitted losing wore on the Patriots.
“I think all the losing left a bad taste in the mouth, and we just wanted to like clear it out and get that winning feeling,” he said. “All the losses that piled up fueled the drive to win.”
The Patriots had eight seniors this fall, but Whelchel is not at all thinking about a rebuilding year in 2026.
“We're going to lose a lot of talent for sure. But we had some really talented sophomores this year, and the only reason they didn't see the field a lot is because we had a lot of those guys playing ahead of them,” Whelchel said. “The seniors obviously had talent on the field, but they're leaders off the field too. And so they've set an example for next year’s seniors and juniors. I think we'll pick up – maybe not exactly where we left off – it might take some growing pains.”
Hinmon believes these seniors have paved the way for future Patriots football players to keep the winning tradition alive.
“Everybody used to call us the pity-party Patriots,” Hinmon indicated. “They never thought we were good, and now this season, we really proved ourselves. We worked hard. I think our next season, the younger ones are going to have a great season.”
“I think it's a thing of standards,” Klumpp added. “It just sets at the bar even higher for everyone else that's going to go through this program.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) St. Helen Charlton Heston players huddle on a game day this season. (2) Patriots quarterback Dylan Chichowski works to elude a Rogers City defender. (3) Owen Romancky (21) leaps to haul in a pass against Hillman. (4) Tiernan Hinmon sets up to make his move while carrying the ball against Breckenridge. (Owen Romancky photo by Ashley Patti/Houghton Lake Resorter. All other photos submitted by Jessica Romancky.)