Contender makes early case
April 18, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A younger Grand Rapids West Catholic boys golf team felt it left too many strokes on the course in tying for fourth place at last spring's Division 3 Final at Michigan State’s Forest Akers East.
A season older and remembering that disappointment, the Falcons have left some of the state's top teams in their wake in starting this spring among the hottest teams in Michigan.
West Catholic received this week’s team Second Half High 5 after impressive showings in back-to-back tournaments against some of the state’s top competition. The Falcons shot 315 on April 12 to finish five strokes back of top-ranked Division 1 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central at the Kent County Classic at The Highlands. The next day, West Catholic shot a 303 in the Haslett Invitational at Forest Akers East to edge a bevy of strong Division 2 and 3 teams, including the No. 1s in both of those state polls.
“We pretty much expect to contend with anybody,” West Catholic coach Andy Weatherhead said. “We’d like to consistently get to the low 290s. I think that’s possible.”
Four returnees from last season’s team key this line-up. At the top is junior Sam Weatherhead – Andy’s son – who is arguably the state’s top player and finished runner-up at the Division 3 Final after losing a tie-breaker.
He won the individual medal at Kent County with a 68 – four better than Forest Hills Central’s Andrew Yeager, who has signed with the University of Michigan – and then shot a 3-under-par 69 to win at Forest Akers East.
Weatherhead is joined by seniors Matt Kowalczyk and Dalton Drumm and junior Adam Rooney. They all shot 87 or better at Kent County and 83 or lower at Forest Akers East.
All four have taken a jump this spring. Weatherhead shot in the 60s a few times last season, but has been there all this season so far. Kowalczyk and Drumm have cut strokes by improving their course management. And as a group, last season’s Finals jump – the Falcons finished 10th in 2010 – provided a confidence boost they continue to ride.
“No doubt, they were pretty excited,” Andy Weatherhead said of the Haslett Invite win. “We felt going in, as the only west side team going over there, we were in it to win it. We were a little upset the day before because we didn’t win the Classic, but we thought we were good enough. That’s the big thing about golf – thinking you’re good enough.
“It was kind of a spring board last year. We worked hard enough, and we’re good enough to be here.”
Click to read more about this week's other High 5s honorees.
PHOTO: Grand Rapids West Catholic tied for fourth at last season's Division 3 Final at Michigan State's Forest Akers West.
Mona Shores Packs a Powerful Swing
May 2, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The chances are good Muskegon Mona Shores will continue facing more senior-laden opponents this spring.
But just because the Sailors are made up of all juniors and freshmen, it doesn’t mean they don’t carry significant experience onto the course.
Juniors Reed Hrynewich, Andrew Van Aels, Joel Maire and Eric Kastelic all were among the team’s top five scorers at last season’s Division 1 Final at Oakland University. And although none placed among the individual top 10, the team finished fifth overall.
“We’re more poised,” Mona Shores coach Tom Wilson said. “We were fifth at the state finals last year, and I think there was a little bit of intimidation there. It was the first time the whole team had been there – Reed had been there as an individual – and I think they’ve picked up a lot from that.”
Mona Shores’ golf team gets Second Half’s team High 5 this week after winning, by a stroke, the always-competitive Traverse City Central Invitational this weekend at Spruce Run and The Wolverine.
The Sailors didn’t finish first in either round over the two-day event. But they finished second in both, shooting 309 on Friday at Spruce Run and 297 on Saturday at The Wolverine for a combined score of 606 strokes – one fewer than Division 1 top-ranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and two fewer than then-No. 5 Traverse City West.
Mona Shores is ranked No. 2 in Division 1. And as evidence of the respect given to the Traverse City tournament, three more teams from the weekend’s field have since been added to that state poll’s top 10.
Hrynewich shot a 69 to finish second at the Wolverine and a 75 to finish fifth at Spruce Run, and Van Aels finished eighth individually in both weekend rounds. Maire and Kastelic also both shot at least 82 in both rounds, and together the four have been making significant contributions since the start of high school.
“They were kind of leading the pack when they were freshmen,” said Wilson – who has led four teams to MHSAA championships, including two over the last 11 seasons.
But the juniors represent part of a line-up loaded with potential. Freshmen Glen Kastelic and Mitchell White fill the remaining starting spots. At Monday’s O-K Black Jamboree at Watermark Golf Course, also a win, both freshmen shot 36, with Hrynewich 37 and Van Aelt a 38.
Hrynewich is a significant presence at the top of the lineup. He’s been an all-stater his first two seasons – he tied for sixth in at the Division 1 Final as a freshman – and also was a hockey all-stater this winter.
A skillful swing runs in the family. His father Tim played two seasons in the NHL for the Pittsburgh Penguins. And Reed’s twin sister also is among the state’s golfing elite – a three-time top-five Finals placer as Mona Shores’ girls golf team has won the last three Division 2 championships.
The Kastelic brothers also are strong hockey players, and Wilson said there’s certainly a connection between the two sports and their reliance on strong hand-eye coordination.
He’s had strong hockey players lead some of his other top Mona Shores teams – and this one is beginning to show a championship look as well.
PHOTO: Mona Shores junior Reed Hrynewich lines up a putt during last season's Division 1 Final, where the Sailors finished fifth.