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.)
Norway, West Iron's Thomson Take Championship Strides
By
Matt McCarthy
Special for Second Half
June 2, 2021
GAASTRA — West Iron County's Nathan Thomson enjoyed the comforts of competing at his home course Wednesday, as the Wykons senior captured the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 2 boys golf championship at the George Young Recreational Complex in Iron County.
Thomson, a senior, shot a 77 to take home medalist.
"The greens were really fast today, faster than I have ever seen here," said Thomson. "I play here almost every single day. But it's awesome to win U.P.'s here."
It was also a blustery day at times, which Thomson noted came up in spurts.
"There was a point on hole 11, where I could see the ball moving on the green because of the wind, as I was waiting to putt," Thomson added.
Norway took home the team title by a significant margin over runner-up Hancock, 328-357, with four Knights finishing among the top seven individuals including runner-up Jeffrey VanHolla with a 78.
The team title was Norway’s fourth and first since 1988. The Knights had finished Division 2 runners-up six of the last eight seasons, including back-to-back to West Iron County in both 2018 and 2019.
Evan Anderson shot an 80 to finish third, followed by Drew Anderson with an 84 in fifth and Carson Chartier with an 86 for seventh. Tyler Parker with a 105 rounded out Norway's lineup on the day.
Two years ago (before COVID-19 caused last season to be canceled), Drew Anderson was second and VanHolla and Thomson tied for third at the Division 2 Final which also was at George Young.
"I don't know what else was different here today besides the fast greens, but I usually shoot lower scores here, especially the last two rounds I played here before today," said Drew Anderson, a junior this season.
Fourth place among individuals went to Mason Mikesch of Hancock with an 81. Finishing in sixth place was Jeff Starzynski of Stephenson with an 85, and Justin Carrick of Brimley and Ricky Brown of Iron Mountain tied for eighth place with 87s. Chad Nordstrom of Hancock and Josh Magnusen of Newberry tied for 10th with 90s.
On the team side, Brimley was third with a 382. The next three teams were separated by two strokes – St. Ignace fourth at 405, Iron Mountain fifth at 406 and Pickford seven carding a 407.
Newberry at 416, Watersmeet at 419, Munising at 422, Stephenson at 433 and Bark River-Harris at 520 rounded out the team scores.
PHOTOS: (Top) West Iron County's Nathan Thomson unloads a drive during his championship round Wednesday. (Middle) Norway celebrates its first team Finals title since 1988. (Photos by Matt McCarthy.)