Thank You from Second Half
January 25, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Next week will mark the one-year birthday of Second Half, our place to tell your high school sports stories.
And I thank you for helping us to such a great start.
We knew what we hoped to accomplish starting this site a year ago, but we've learned quite a bit during a relatively short time. Although we continue to pursue the mission of being home of the state’s best high school stories and a daily stop for fans, we’ll continue to experiment to figure out what you'd most like to see and how best we can continue to pass along the great things happening in MHSAA athletics.
A few things to call to your attention as we move ahead:
- First and foremost, we strive to tell your stories – hoping to hit every sport and all regions of our state – and have some intriguing ones coming up as we get into the second half of the winter season. Stay tuned.
- Second Half is the home for the “Battle of the Fans II.” We have visits to Buchanan and Vandercook Lake next week, followed by Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard and Zeeland East the week after. We’ll announce the winner Feb. 22. All will be found here first.
- We've revamped our video page (see menu across the top of this screen) and will be adding more videos more regularly in the year to come.
- After a brief hiatus, we’ll next week bring back “High 5s” featuring two athletes and a team that have done great things this season.
- What you’re reading now is the first of a weekly “First Pitch” blog that will allow us to post more of the quick hits we run across in our regular travels. Make sure to continue checking out the twice-weekly blog by Executive Director Jack Roberts, as well as the Viewpoints and SAC Sound-Offs supplied regularly by our friends from the Michigan State University Institute for the Study of Youth Sports and the members of our Student Advisory Council, respectively.
- We began providing in-depth statewide coverage – both previewing and then postgame reporting – of our Finals in every sport this fall, and hope to become your first and fastest source for the stories behind our championships.
We’re always looking for ideas both for stories or any other features you’d like to see – and feel free to send them directly to me at [email protected].
And again, thank you again for coming to our site today. We look forward to seeing you more in the year to come.
Notre Dame Prep's Studt Repeats Individual Sweep, Country Day Claims 1st Team Title
By
Nick Cooper
Special for MHSAA.com
February 24, 2026
BELLAIRE – A lot can change in a year, but that was not the case at Monday’s Division 2 Girls Ski Finals.
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s Maren Studt won her second consecutive championships in both the slalom and giant slalom.
While the competition was tight, Studt’s dominated the field as she won the giant slalom with a time of 48.27, nearly a full second quicker than second-place Sophie Hicks of East Grand Rapids (49.22).
Studt won the slalom in a combined time of 66.92 seconds, just ahead of Detroit Country Day’s Annie Way.
“It feels really good. Definitely a lot of stress coming into the postseason, but I’m really happy with my skiing today. It feels great to end my high school career that way,” Studt said.
Studt credited those around her for the success and motivation to pull out the repeat.
Finishing third in the giant slalom was Houghton’s Laura Lucak (49.54), followed by Annie Way of Detroit Country Day (49.95) and Grace Rowe of Great North Alpine (50.02).
In the slalom, Houghton’s Lucak finished third as well with a time of 68.98 followed by Great North Alpine’s Schaffler (69.57) and Detroit Country Day’s Avery Siudara (70.25).
While Studt’s dominating career crescendo appeared to come easily, the skiing star acknowledged the persistence that has gotten her to the top of the Michigan skiing mountain.
“I know it’s challenging, but you just gotta keep working. Results don’t come immediately, it’s a process, but you have to enjoy the process while it’s happening,” Studt said.
Detroit Country Day who took home the school’s first team Finals championship with a combined total of 91 points, 20 points better than second-place finisher Harbor Springs (111).
Country Day’s dominant slalom performance (38 points) all but sealed the win for the up-and-coming program. The Yellowjackets’ finished with 33 fewer points than second-place finisher Harbor Springs (71) in the slalom, led in large part by Way (67.43) and Siudara.
“Going into the race I was going to be happy with third. Beyond happy, but never really thought that we could have come out in first. Our late coach (Daniel) Costigan was looking over us today,” Country Day coach Geoffrey Becker said.
Finishing third in the team standings was Norway with a combined score of 114, followed by East Grand Rapids (128), Great North Alpine (139), Cadillac (163), Clare (216), Bloomfield Hills Marian (229.5) and Grand Rapids Christian (230.5).
PHOTOS (Top) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s Maren Studt races to the giant slalom championship Monday at Schuss Mountain. (Middle) Detroit Country Day’s Annie Way slides past a gate on the way to finishing second in the slalom. (Click for more from Todd VanSickle.)