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.
Smith Sets Tone as Multi-Talented Pewamo-Westphalia Ascends Again
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
June 1, 2024
KENT CITY – Trevor Smith set the tone early for the Pewamo-Westphalia boys track & field team Saturday at Kent City.
The junior sprinter earned a narrow win in the 100 to collect early points that would prove beneficial in the Pirates’ pursuit of their latest Lower Peninsula Division 3 championship.
“It was a big win right away in the beginning, and it helped put us in a good position,” Smith said. “It was a big emotional shift, and it was unreal.
“I didn’t really expect it, but it was a big help toward our team with points. I just missed winning last year, so to come back and win it meant a lot.”
Pewamo-Westphalia kept its early advantage throughout and hung on in the end to capture the title. The Pirates, last year’s runners-up, recorded 49 points to clip second-place Clare by four points. Detroit Edison was third with 32 points.
P-W senior Gavin Nurenberg repeated in the shot put (60-02), while senior Collin Farmer added a pair of top-4 finishes in the distance events.
“Our boys had a really nice season, but this was always the focus from Day 1,” Pirates coach Scott Werner said. “We felt we had the pieces in place when we got out of Regionals, and we were just excited to attack the day.
“We are the type of program where we are good in quite a few events. We don't rely on one person. We set the tone early with unexpected points in the 3,200 relay, and it built from there.”
Farmer finished runner-up in the 3,200 and fourth in the 1,600.
“There are not a lot of teams that have good guys in the field, sprints and distance, so I think that brings a lot of peace to the team,” Farmer said. “We knew that we could trust each other, and not one person had to take control.”
Senior Dalton Brown also provided a lift with a personal record en route to a third-place finish in the shot put.
“I challenged each of the separate groups to go out and score a minimum of 15 points,” Werner said. “We had a plan and an approach for every single event, and they trusted the process and executed at the highest level. I’m proud of them.”
Clare made a late push with a strong showing in the relays, while also receiving a boost from senior Brad White. He cruised to a win in the 800 with a new personal-best time and also was part of the winning 1,600 relay.
“Honestly, I didn't expect this,” White said. “I came into today pressure-free. I’ve already accomplished everything I could ever want in a season, and I'm just as happy as I can be to come out here and do something special, especially in my last high school race. I’m proud of my team and my PR.”
North Muskegon senior Jerry Wiegers repeated in the 400 by edging Geoffrey McBurrow of Detroit Edison. Wiegers also won the 200.
“There was a lot of pressure (to repeat), and I was worried on the whole ride here that I was going to screw up and I was going to have to hand the title to someone else,” Wiegers said. “But when I finally passed the finish line and I won, I was like, ‘I did this again, in my final year in high school.’ It was a good way to cap off my career.”
Coloma senior Boden Genovese (1,600) and Grayling senior Drew Moore (3,200) won the distance races, and Napoleon senior Holden Van Poppel (110) and Elk Rapids junior Max Ward (300) were hurdles champions. Standish-Sterling (400), Edison (800) and Traverse City St. Francis (3,200) also won relays. Lawton junior Mason Mayne (discus), Ovid-Elsie junior Tryce Tokar (pole vault) and Clare sophomore Conan Weeks (long jump) were other field event winners. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett senior Jake Juip (100 and 200), Montague junior Wyatt Fairchild (400) and Perry senior Alec Chapman (shot put) won the adaptive event championships.
PHOTOS (Top) Pewamo-Westphalia's Trevor Smith, center, edges Dearborn Advanced Technology's Cobey Cureton and University Liggett's Santino Cicarella, among others, in the 100 on Saturday. (Middle) Ovid-Elsie's Tryce Tokar attempts a vault amid the rainy conditions. (Click for more from Jamie McNinch/RunMichigan.com.)