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.
Pioneer Earns 31st State Championship to Complete Sport's Inaugural MHSAA Tournament
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
October 25, 2025
NORTHVILLE – If there were ever a situation where one state championship seemed greater than 30 previous ones, this was it for the Ann Arbor Pioneer field hockey program.
Over its first 45 years as a program, Pioneer won 30 state championships while the sport was sanctioned by the Michigan High School Field Hockey League.
With this 46th year for the Pioneers the first for field hockey with MHSAA sponsorship, they certainly had a weight of expectations as the team to beat with their storied history and fact they entered the postseason as the No. 1 overall seed.
But none of that additional pressure slowed down Pioneer, which made history as the MHSAA’s inaugural Finals champion in field hockey with a 2-0 win over Southeastern Conference rival Dexter on Saturday at Tom Holzer Field.
“I always tell the athletes that pressure, you can use it to your advantage,” said longtime Pioneer head coach Jane Nixon, who completed her 27th season as head coach. “It helps you focus, and it gives you energy. I never think of pressure as a bad thing, but as kind of a good thing.”
The biggest reason Pioneer (15-6-1) added to its championship collection was the strength of its defense.
Pioneer and freshman goalie Mara Boullion didn’t give up a single goal during the entire MHSAA Tournament, and thwarted all 10 penalty corner opportunities Dexter earned during the championship game.
Boullion stopped all seven shots from the Dreadnaughts (15-4-4).
“It was just a lot of grit and a lot of heart,” Nixon said. “Just sticking with it and persevering through the hard stuff. Really proud of our defensive effort and our goalkeeping.”
Pioneer opened the scoring with 4:03 remaining in the first quarter on a goal by junior Zoe Shuchman.
Following a Pioneer penalty corner, there was a mad scramble in front of the Dexter goal, where Zoe Shuchman managed to get a strong enough piece of the ball to put it across the line and net.
Pioneer went up 2-0 with 2:47 remaining in the third quarter on a Dexter turnover deep in its own territory. An errant pass was intercepted by Pioneer senior Maggie Lamb, who broke in all alone on the Dexter goal and put away the chance.
It was her 10th goal of the season.
“We felt a lot (of pressure),” Lamb said of Pioneer’s tournament run. “We were also trying to go into it a game at a time and not thinking too far ahead. Just making sure we played our best game until we reached this ultimate end game.”
This was the third game of the season between Pioneer and Dexter. The teams played to a 1-1 tie on Sept. 15 before Pioneer earned a 1-0 win in the second game Sept. 22.
Like Pioneer, Dexter also is a storied program, having won MHSFHL Division 2 state titles in 2022 and 2023 and five overall.
Dexter was making its fourth-straight championship game appearance after losing in last year’s MHSFHL Division 2 final and had spurts throughout the game where it carried play.
Dexter ended up outshooting Pioneer, 9-7. Unfortunately for the Dreadnaughts, it couldn’t crack Pioneer’s stout defense.
“Sometimes it’s just a matter of a lucky break,” said Dexter head coach Keely Tamer. “They’re a talented team, and I knew we were going to have to play hard to get the ball in. It just didn’t happen today. We have the talent to score. It just wasn’t there today.”
PHOTOS (Top) Ann Arbor Pioneer's Maggie Lamb (7) and her teammates raise their championship trophy Saturday after clinching the first MHSAA Finals title in the sport. (Middle) Pioneer's Violet Soldan (10) prepares to move the ball ahead while Dexter's Claire Dubuque defends. (Below) Pioneer's Izzy Sutton (15). and Mara Buillon (35) defend their goal with Dexter's Allison St. Amour (9) and Kylie Marcinkowski working to find an opening.