High 5s - 10/17/12

October 17, 2012

We love to recognize first-time accomplishments (or first time in a long while), and this week's High 5s go out to some of the best this season in swimming, tennis and football.

Each week, Second Half recognizes two athletes and a team for their successes during the current season. To nominate a candidate, email editor Geoff Kimmerly at [email protected].

Below are this week's honorees.

Morgan Bullock
Zeeland West freshman
Swimming

Bullock, swimming in her first high school MISCA Meet, posted winning times in the 200-yard freestyle and 100 butterfly that would've placed at last season's MHSAA Division 1 Final. She won the 200 in 1:51.97 and the butterfly in 56.37 seconds. Her 200 time would've been the third best at last season's Final, and her butterfly time would've placed her fifth, just behind older sister Jordan Bullock, who graduated this spring. Zeeland West and East combine for one team, and Morgan already has team records in the 50 and 100 freestyles and 100 butterfly. Those three records formerly belonged to her sister.

All about the training: Bullock lives near the pool, so she wakes up school day mornings at 5:24 a.m. and gets to the pool at 5:32 for 5:45 practices. The team then has breakfast together before classes begin. "I love the feel when you touch that wall, when you see your best times. You know that all the hard work, waking up so early in the morning for practice, it all pays off."

Be like Dana: "Mostly I look up to Dana Vollmer. Just for the Olympics this year, her 100 butterfly, she had an amazing time. I'm close to the Olympic trial cut for that, and (I admire) a huge amount how fast she's gotten." 

Already thinking ahead: "The next Olympic trials, I want to make that. I probably won't get in the top two, so I'll wait four years, and that's when I want to go to the Olympics. I think I'll be 20-something. And I want to go into dentistry. My dad and my grandparents, they always ask what I want to be when I grow up. They'll always throw out some stuff, like my grandma will throw out being a lawyer. But when I watched the Olympic trials in Omaha (Neb.), I was watching it and thinking I definitely want to do this next time." 

Best advice from big sis: "That's a hard one. Probably just try your best."

Click to read more.

Billy Heckman
Portage Central senior
Tennis

Heckman, the runner-up at No. 2 singles at last season's MHSAA Division 2 Final, downed reigning No. 1 singles champion Davis Crocker of Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 7-6 (5), 6-1 to win last week's Regional championship at Portage Northern. Crocker was 26-0 this season heading into the event. The two had never met during the high school season, but Heckman had fallen to Crocker once previously at a USTA event.

Up next: Heckman isn't sure where yet, but he'd like to play Division I college tennis. He does know he'll study business. "I'm good with people, and I just like doing business stuff. A lot of people think I'm an entrepreneur just because I like to work on things. I used to buy things and then fix them up and sell them on eBay ... make some extra cash."

The apprentice: "With tennis, I just know how to set up points pretty well, and maybe that can apply to business somehow. We have senior mock elections. ... (People) call me the next Steve Jobs, the next billionaire."

A different kind of ball player: Heckman's father Victor Heckman was a baseball fifth-round draft pick of the Chicago White Sox in 1985. "Obviously, he wanted me to play. But those are some pretty big shoes to fill. I played every kind of sport when I was a kid. Tennis just seemed to stick with me."

My favorite player is: "Lleyton Hewitt. I always liked how competitive he is. I used to grow my hair out to be like him. He has a great serve. It's not all about power. He has great placement."

Click to read more.

Lansing Everett football

The Vikings downed rival Lansing Sexton 32-0 to clinch a share of the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue championship, their first league title since 1986. Everett is 8-0 after winning a combined six games over the last three seasons, and can finish with a perfect regular season for the first time since 1954 by beating winless Jackson on Friday. The Vikings trail only Muskegon in playoff point average among teams expected to fall into Division 2 when pairings are determined Sunday.

Click to read more.

Previous 2012-13 honorees:

Soccer, Cross Country LIVE on MHSAA.tv

October 14, 2014

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Live coverage of MHSAA Boys Soccer and Girls and Boys Cross Country postseason events begins tonight on MHSAA.tv. 

Eight boys soccer District games will be broadcast live over the next three days. Also, for the first time, MHSAA.tv will have live streaming video from the Finish Line of the Upper Peninsula Cross Country Finals.  

Here’s this week's complete soccer and cross country broadcast schedule:

Tuesday (Oct. 14)

Div. 1 at St. Clair Shores Lakeview
Grosse Pointe South vs. Fraser – 5 p.m.
Grosse Pointe North vs. Warren DeLaSalle – 7 p.m.

Wednesday (Oct. 15)

Div. 2 at Sparta
Muskegon vs. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer – 5 p.m.
Spring Lake vs. Fruitport  – 7 p.m.

Div. 2 at Middleville Thornapple Kellogg
Plainwell vs. Battle Creek Central – 5 p.m.
Hastings vs. Battle Creek Harper Creek – 7 p.m.

Thursday (Oct. 16)

Div. 1 at Novi
Walled Lake Central vs. West Bloomfield/Northville winner – 5 p.m.
Detroit Catholic Central/Walled Lake Western winner vs. Novi/Livonia Stevenson winner – 7 p.m.

Saturday (Oct. 18)

All divisions at Gentz Homestead Golf Course
11 a.m. – Division 1 Boys Race
11:30 a.m. – Division 2 Boys Rave
Noon – Division 3 Boys Race
12:30 p.m. – Division 1 Girls Race
1 p.m. – Division 2 Girls Race
1:30 p.m. – Division 3 Girls Race

All live soccer games are available on MHSAA.tv on a subscription basis. Subscriptions run either $9.95 for a Day Pass or $14.95 for a Month Pass. Games will become available for free On Demand viewing three days after they have been played.

The cross country stream will include the start of each race, the first and last 400 to 800 meters, and interviews will take place during the continuous coverage from 11 a.m. to approximately 2 p.m. The cross country live stream will be free and also archived for On Demand viewing.

Additionally, a number of events produced last week are available on-demand and free of charge:

Soccer

  • Lincoln Alcona vs. Fairview
  • Grayling vs. Kalkaska
  • Pinconning vs. Standish-Sterling
  • East Lansing vs. Mason

Volleyball

  • Petoskey vs. Gaylord
  • East Lansing vs. Jackson
  • Comstock Park vs. Belding
  • Davison vs. Saginaw Heritage
  • Posen vs. Rogers City
  • Negaunee vs. Gwinn
  • Rogers City vs. Lincoln Alcona

Football

  • Negaunee vs. Ishpeming
  • Stanton Central Montcalm vs. Reed City 
  • Dowagiac vs. Edwardsburg
  • East Lansing vs. Lansing Sexton
  • Plainwell vs. Three Rivers
  • AuGres-Sims vs. Mio
  • Oscoda vs. Hillman
  • Rogers City vs. Whittemore-Prescott
  • Clare vs. Farwell

MHSAA.tv Highlights: This week's package includes clips from the Mason/East Lansing boys soccer game and Ishpeming/Negaunee and Plainwell/Three Rivers football games.