Clarkston Everest Earns 1st Finals Win
June 11, 2016
By Scott Keyes
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – Until Saturday, Clarkston Everest Collegiate had never won an MHSAA Finals championship in any sport during the school’s eight-year existence.
That all changed during a five-hour round of golf Saturday afternoon, as its boys team lapped the field en route to capturing the Lower Peninsula Division 4 championship at Forest Akers West on the campus of Michigan State University.
The Mountaineers fired a two-day total of 637 followed by Kalamazoo Christian (665). Muskegon Catholic was third at 685, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart fourth at 690 and Clinton rounded out the top five with a 692.
Everest Collegiate used a strong second day to run away from the field after firing a 317 to take a two-stoke lead into the second round. The Mountaineers were followed closely by Kalamazoo Christian (319) and Sacred Heart (328) during Saturday’s round.
Everest Collegiate coach David Smith credited the strong start in the opening round to his golfers focus heading into the Final. That, coupled with making clutch shots, allowed the Mountaineers to pull away late in the second round.
"The memories from this day will last a lifetime,” Smith said. “We will go down as the first state championship team in school history. It doesn't get any better than that.
“It’s amazing,” he added. “This is such an amazing group of young men to be with.”
Everest Collegiate had never played the championship course until Friday. Smith was being honest when he said he didn't know what to expect before the opening round of play. But to see the team grow up this weekend nearly moved him to tears.
"You can teach the kids the basics of the game, but to watch them make shots in critical situations and just watch them grow as players is something you can't teach," Smith said. "My senior Tyler Rozwadowski came in and nearly won the whole thing as an individual player, and he never saw the course before until now. It's stuff like that which makes this victory even more impressive. I couldn't be prouder."
Taking the medalist honor was Lansing Christian sophomore Parker Jamieson, who fired a 71-76 two-day total of 147. Rozwadowski finished with 149 strokes, followed by White Pigeon's Jordan Olsen, Kalamazoo Christian's Colin Sikkenga and Collin Powers of Muskegon Catholic Central, who all tied for third at 154.
Jamieson, a Lansing native, is no stranger to the Forest Akers courses, and he played West as a veteran over the past two days. Needless to say he is already thinking about next year's tournament, as it will be played at Forest Akers East.
"I can't help not to think about coming back to Forest Akers next season and repeating," Jamieson said. "I really battled the heat out there Saturday, but so did everyone else. I focused on making good shots, making every shot count out there. It was definitely a grind."
Rozwadowski agree.
"I came into Saturday's round with a number in my mind that I wanted to shoot and I almost hit that number, but I came up a little short," Rozwadowski said. "I would have loved to have won the individual championship, but I wouldn't change anything winning a team title with my guys. This is pretty special."
PHOTOS: (Top) The Clarkston Everest Collegiate boys golf team stands with its first MHSAA championship trophy in any sport. (Middle) Lansing Christian’s Parker Jamieson. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Medalist Menser Sets Pace as DCC Pulls Away from Skyline to Take Back Title
By
Tom Lang
Special for MHSAA.com
June 8, 2024
BATTLE CREEK – For the last four years, Detroit Catholic Central and Ann Arbor Skyline have been battling nip and tuck as two of the top teams in Michigan, led by 2024 seniors Julian Menser of DCC and Vibhav Alokam of Skyline.
This year, Catholic Central nipped Skyline, again, winning the boys Lower Peninsula Division 1 title at Bedford Valley by eight strokes with a two-round 597.
Menser shot 70-70-140 over Friday and Saturday to win medalist and lead the Shamrocks to the team title, the program’s second over the last three years. DCC’s prior three championships came from 2015-17.
Menser said none of his current teammates were on the squad with him two years ago when Catholic Central came from behind to nudge out Ann Arbor Skyline by one stroke.
“I’m really excited, but I’m even more excited for the guys on the team that have won (the state title) because they haven’t gotten to experience this,” Menser said like a true leader. “Looking back on my sophomore year, in the moment that was the entire highlight of my high school career, and obviously this (today) will rival it. But I’m happy for those guys. They worked really hard. I’ve pushed them hard, and they’ve responded and played really well. I’m happy for them more than for myself.”
Menser led with his 140, while senior Carson Lloyd took 13th at 152, and two sophomore teammates Jack Whitmore and David Krusinski placed 23rd and 26th, respectively.
“I’ve had this event circled on my calendar, and I’ve wanted to win this for a long time,” Menser said. “It’s a really strong field and good competition, so it’s exciting to come out on top and know that all my hard work has paid off.”
His next step in the progression is to play golf at Michigan State.
“It’s the best golf team in the state. And ever since I was a little kid I wanted to go play golf at Michigan State,” he said. “It’s a dream come true, and I can’t wait to get there and that be my next step.”
The lead group Saturday featured Metro Detroit powerhouse golfers Peter Roehl, the defending medalist and a senior at Rochester Adams, and Skyline’s Alokam – who took runner up to Menser this weekend. Roehl dropped in a birdie putt bomb on the 18th green to finish with a second-round 70 and sixth place.
“I’m proud of the way I played today,” Alokam said. “Can’t really be mad at a 69. Julian is just such a good player. He really didn’t make any mistakes. Unfortunately, I didn’t get many putts to fall on the back nine to maybe get him nervous and hopefully get some pressure on him. But it’s all good, he’s a great dude and great player.
“The team, for a while there we weren’t putting up good scores, we didn’t break 310 for like a month,” he added. “So, I’m really proud of how we bounced back and how we kind of got it together here at the end of the season.”
Alokam is next headed to Villanova to join his older brother Vimal, a senior to be. “Playing with a sibling at a collegiate level is any kid’s dream,” Vibhav Alokam said.
“CC is always going to be good,” he continued. “They have a ton of good guys, good players. We got them my freshman year, then they got us by one (in 2022) in an incredible comeback. This year they got us again. We battled hard; it’s just the way it falls sometimes. But they deserve it.”
Sophomore Troy Nguyen of Warren De La Salle Collegiate tied for third with senior Matthew Novak of Mattawan. Conner Fox of Lake Orion tied Roehl for fifth.
PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Catholic Central’s Julian Menser follows an approach shot during Saturday’s second round. (Middle) Ann Arbor Skyline’s Vibhav Alokam tees off. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)