Milford’s greatest are inducted into the Hall of Fame

Milford High School’s Athletic Hall of Fame is filled with the most decorated athletes and coaches that ever roamed our halls. During the Milford-Lakeland basketball game, six inductees were added to the list of Milford’s greatest. The inspiring men and women were escorted down the court as they were honored for their dedication to their sport. Then, the ceremony ended with a reception to reiterate the school’s pride in their accomplishments.

Here are the 2022 Milford Hall of Fame Inductees: 

Mike Andersen: Andersen participated in many sports and clubs while attending Milford. He was on both the cross country and track teams, and was the co-editor in chief for The Milford Messenger. Andersen also was in Center Stage as a senior.

He is a three-time MHSAA All-State runner, three-time high school All-American in track and was a part of the 2004 State Champion cross country team.

He said that cross country and track were his “guiding light” throughout high school because of the family atmosphere. “My best friends were all on the team and I had great role models through the team that helped with the tough times that can happen during high school.”

Andersen then continued his athletic career at the University of Dayton where he became a four-time All-Atlantic 10 Conference runner.

Andersen still runs in his adult life, which he says has impacted him a lot. He met his wife at a running store, and now works as a sales representative for Altra Footwear (a running shoe company). “Besides the tangibles, it has also given me my sense of drive and the ability to create goals and follow through on them,” said Andersen, as he explained how running has taught him many life lessons.

More recently, Andersen won the 2014 Detroit Free Press Marathon, and is currently training for the Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City.

Above all, Andersen says his biggest accomplishment is his family. He is currently living in Brighton, with his wife, Kate, and two daughters, Maddy and Ally.

Jane Foote: In a world where athletics focused completely on boys, there was Jane Foote. In 1975, Foote was the first and only female at Milford High School to ever receive a varsity letter in cross country. “At first, it was initially a bit nerve wracking to be the first girl to run cross country,” Foote said.  “I was not sure coach B would let me run. But he did.”

She instantly became an inspiration at MHS, and by 1976, there was a full 8-women cross country squad.

Foote seemed to always go above and beyond. She ran with the boys to get a better workout, then went on to win the Oakland County meet in 1976, and earned two top 15 finishes at the informal state championships. Foote also set the school record for the fastest time on any three-mile course with a time of 19:17.

Outside of running, Foote participated in German Club, Horsemanship Team and the 4-H. She graduated from Milford with a 4.0 GPA as the co-valedictorian.

Foote went on to earn a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan, and now works for the Quality Department of Michigan Medicine. She is currently living in Novi with her spouse, John, and has three stepchildren.

Kyle Harris: Harris participated in cross country and track while at Milford. He earned eight varsity letters, and was a key member of each team, earning 12 All-Conference titles, and four MHSAA State Championship medals. Harris was also on  the three-time Conference, Regional and County champion teams.

His relay team set a school record in the 4×800. As a team, Milford cross country was runner-up twice at the MHSAA State Championships in 2001 and 2002. The next year, 2003, the boys earned what they had been working for all along: the state title.

“We should have won the prior two years but came up short, so winning in my senior year was extra special,” said Harris.

After high school, Harris went on to run cross country and track at Eastern Michigan University. Now, he is a registered nurse, living in Arizona.

Marty Neighbors: Neighbors first started coaching at just 16 years old. His first team was a Little League boys’ baseball team, and since then he has coached both soccer and alpine ski racing.

At Milford, Neighbors led the girls and boys alpine ski teams for 34 years. Throughout, he held an impressive record of 272 wins-76 losses. Neighbors and his teams won 16 Division Championships, three Conference titles and six Regional titles. He also made 26 MHSAA State Championship appearances.

Neighbors’ dedication to the sport of ski racing was reflected in each of his athletes and their victories.

As a coach, Neighbors has been inducted into the Michigan High School Ski Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Michigan High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame. More recently, he earned the Bill Millu Lifetime Achievement Award from the Michigan High School Ski Coaches Association.

Regardless of his numerous achievements, Neighbors said, “The greatest stat I could have as a coach was getting to work with so many great athletes.”

Now retired from coaching, Neighbors spends his time with his family, including his wife, Susan, and seven grandchildren.

Dana Pitcock: While at Milford, Pitcock participated in cross country, track and basketball, earning 10 varsity letters total.

Throughout his high school career, he was a part of the very successful running crew. Together, between cross country and track and field, they won five conference championships, five regional championships and four state championships.

As an individual, on the cross country team, Pitcock was the Kensington Valley Conference Champion, and earned All-State honors in 2004. In track and field he was a three-time conference champion in the 4×800 and set many school records, including his 1200 meter split of 3:05.5, which is still the fastest in Milford history. Pitcock also earned All-State honors five times, and won the MHSAA State Championships with his 3200 meter relay team. Pitcock then went on to be a two time National Champion in track and field.

Pitcock’s experience in athletics went far beyond the hardware. “I had some of the best coaches anyone could ask for in Brian Salyers(Sal), Chris Ceresa and Elizabeth Minock for running and Chip Lutz, Skip Stephenson, Don Palmer,” Pitcock said. “I had a great time in school and it taught me how to be dedicated and disciplined to get the job done.”

After high school, Pitcock went on to run cross country and track and field at Michigan State University. He is now a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, and is living in Lake Orion.

Pitcock says his biggest accomplishment is his family. He has two girls, which he coaches in soccer and mountain biking.

Justin Williams: Throughout his high school career, Williams earned eight varsity letters in cross country, basketball and track and field.

Williams was a three time KVC All-Conference athlete, earned All-District honors, and KVC Player of the Year. He was also named All-Lakes Area Player of the Year.

While in high school, he held several records at Milford including the most 3-pointers in a season with 75, and in a career with 137.

After graduating, Williams attended Grand Valley State University and Ohio University. He currently works for Molina Healthcare as an Associate Vice President over Medicare Operations.

He is married to wife Natalie and has two children.

Congratulations again to all of the Hall of Fame Inductees! These men and women have shaped Milford athletics with the legacies that they left behind.