Welcome Back to 'The Woods'
January 17, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Buchanan, here we come.
The MHSAA and its Student Advisory Council will kick off "Battle of the Fans III" tonight with a return trip to Buchanan, last season's BOTF champion.
Buchanan, tucked into the southwest corner of the Lower Peninsula, is a Class B school of 465 students hailing from a community of roughly 4,400. The Bucks earned voters' hearts in 2013 as most of that student body and community filled the home gym – fittingly referred to as "The Woods" – for the MHSAA's BOTF visit.
The MHSAA will visit finalists Beaverton, Bridgman, Frankfort and Traverse City West later this month and during the first two weeks of February before crowning a champion on Feb. 21 and inviting representatives from the winning section to a banner presentation during the Boys Basketball Semifinals on March 21 at Michigan State's Breslin Center.
Remember, follow the Battle of the Fans on the MHSAA's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram social media sites by clicking hashtag #BOTF. The MHSAA-produced story and video from tonight's trip will be published Tuesday on Second Half.
Here's Buchanan's application video for this winter's contest.
PHOTO is courtesy of Buchanan High School. Battle of the Fans III is sponsored in part by the United Dairy Industry of Michigan.
Performance of the Week: Ann Arbor Pioneer's Gabrielle Haudan
November 6, 2026
Gabrielle Haudan ♦ Ann Arbor Pioneer
Junior ♦ Field Hockey
Haudan scored the only goal of this season’s MHSAA Final at Michigan State with 29 seconds left in the first quarter as Ann Arbor Pioneer repeated as champion with a 1-0 win over Saline. The goal made a memorable day even more so, as Haudan celebrated her 17th birthday Saturday.
The junior forward also was a significant contributor on Pioneer’s Finals championship team in 2025 and already is set to continue her career after high school as she’s committed to national power Northwestern. Haudan will be continuing a Division I athletic legacy as her mother Jenny (Zangara) Haudan was on University of Michigan’s 2001 national championship field hockey team and her father Brad ran track at U-M. Gabrielle also runs track for Pioneer and earned a Lower Peninsula Division 1 Regional championship in the 100 meters this past season.
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MHSAA.com's "Performance of the Week" features are powered by MI Student Aid, a division within the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and X @mistudentaid.
Past 2026-27 honorees
Oct. 30: Mason Crosby, South Lyon East tennis - Read
Oct. 23: Addilyn Duflo, Bath golf - Read
Oct. 16: Levi Lengemann, Imlay City tennis - Read
Oct. 9: Olivia Buford, Sterling Heights Stevenson swimming - Read
Oct. 2: Sophia McCollum, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer golf - Read
Sept. 25: Jenna Middleton, Kingsley volleyball - Read
Sept. 18: Caden Livermore, Grandville cross country - Read