D2 Champs Follow 1st-Place Friday with Celebration Saturday
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
June 12, 2021
BATTLE CREEK — Brockton English had dreamed for more than a year about winning the individual Lower Peninsula Division 2 golf championship, but he was far from confident going into this weekend’s tournament at Bedford Valley Golf Club.
“I played in a big invitational in Indiana earlier in the week, and I played really bad. Just really bad,” said the Pontiac Notre Dame Prep senior. “I knew the (Bedford Valley) course was going to be easier than what I played in Indiana, but, still, I was a little nervous.”
A fast start Friday, with five birdies in the first 10 holes, cured the nerves, and he carded identical rounds of five-under 67 to win the individual title by five strokes over Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice’s Lorenzo Pinili, who shot 68 on Saturday to finish at 139.
Pinili’s Brother Rice team won the team title, however, recording identical rounds of 290 to finish 18 strokes ahead of Flint Powers Catholic.
Warriors coaches Leon Braisted and David Sass, who co-coached the Bloomfield Hills Marian girls to the Division 3 title in the fall, became the first coaches to win Finals with boys and girls golf teams in the same school year.
“It’s a very good feeling,” Braisted said. “We’re tickled pink, and we’re going to let it soak in. It’s been a very productive school year.”
Brother Rice got off to a rough start on Saturday as the pressure of being the leader at the halfway point took its toll early.
“Part of that was nerves,” said senior Colin O’Rourke, who finished with a 74-70—144 score. “Around hole 4 or 5 our five guy settled in, and we started playing.”
The Warriors led by eight strokes over Flint Powers going into Saturday and added 10 strokes to that lead.
“That was pretty special,” O’Rourke said. “We caught a groove and never looked back.”
Pinili shot a 68 on Saturday after teammate Matt Baer had done so the day before.
“I was patient the whole day,” Pinili said. “I was giving myself chances by sticking it to 10 feet or less (from the cup). A couple (putts) didn’t fall, but I stayed patient and most of them did. I got lucky on some shots and I got some breaks and put a good round together.”
While Pinili was staying patient, English had some nervous moments down the stretch.
“On 16 I was trying to go for the green in two to get another birdie and two-putt, but I pulled my 2-iron way left of the green, next to a tree, and I had to take an unplayable lie,” he said. “That really put me on edge. I took a bogey there, and I knew Lorenzo was really close.
“On 17, I was really nervous because I had to sink a 4-footer to save par," he added, "and then I was able to roll in a birdie on 18, and that’s when I knew I had my momentum back.”
That last putt, English said, was bliss.
“It’s a weird feeling. You can’t think about it too much because you don’t want to make a mistake,” he said. “But the last putt is a great feeling. There’s no pressure any more. You make it, or you two-putt. It doesn’t matter.”
For O’Rourke, his last putt was bittersweet.
“It was a sad and happy moment at the same time,” he said. “It was my last high school tournament, but I’m fortunate to take (golf) to the next level and play in college.”
While O’Rourke will play at the University of Dayton next year, the Warriors will have both Pinili and Baer, who was a junior this year, back in 2022.
But this year’s Brother Rice team was talented, deep — and unselfish.
“We have nine guys who averaged 78 or better for 18 holes,” Braisted said. “We were blessed with talent, and we were in a lot of pressure situations. We’re in a strong league, and that experience rubbed off for us today.”
English, who will play golf on scholarship at Drexel University, credited his personal swing coach for keeping him ready through the winter, and his coaches at Pontiac Notre Dame Prep for preparing him mentally during the season.
“Mike Erskine, Kevin Ogg and John Briceland were always pushing me,” he said. “Every practice, they pushed me, giving me the hardest shots to hit against my teammates, and we had some putting contests to put some pressure on me. They didn’t let me stay satisfied. They kept me hungry for more.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice celebrates its Division 2 team championship Saturday at Bedford Valley. (Middle) Flint Powers Catholic’s Robert Burns chips during his second round. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
No. 5 Leads Lansing Catholic to Repeat
June 7, 2014
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
ALLENDALE – The return of three players from last year’s MHSAA championship squad produced similar expectations this season for the Lansing Catholic boys golf team.
The Cougars were able to duplicate last year’s feat, winning the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final on Saturday at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University.
Lansing Catholic made it back-to-back titles by firing a 633 total. Runner-up Jackson Lumen Christi finished eight shots back and shot a 641, while Kalkaska was third at 645.
“The mindset going into the season with the players we had back was to repeat,” Cougars coach Charlie Furney said. “From the very beginning, that was our goal, and I think the key to this year compared to last year was they all lowered their stroke averages.
“We averaged 10 strokes better this year for every 18 holes we played, and we did that because of depth. All five of our kids could score in the 70s anytime they wanted.”
Ironically, it was a player who didn’t compete in last year’s Finals that set the tone for Lansing Catholic.
Junior Patrick Gillespie, the team’s No. 5 player, led the Cougars and tied for fourth individually after shooting a 152 with rounds of 77 and 75.
“It’s been an awesome couple of days,” Gillespie said. “I didn’t get to play in the state finals last year, and that’s what pushed me to get there this year. I hit it straight the last two days, and my drives were really good.”
Furney was impressed by Gillespie’s play, which made the coach reconsider his all-state nominees.
“He carried us, and he had a mission,” Furney said. “He told me at the beginning of the tournament, ‘if I shoot a couple scores in the 70s do you think you can put me up for all-state?’ because he was our fifth guy and I was thinking about putting four up. So he obviously convinced me that I’m going to have to put him up.”
Lansing Catholic’s lone senior, Brent Marshall, placed eighth overall at 156 and carded rounds of 75 and 81, while junior Niko Voutsaras shot 160 (75-85) and sophomore Owen Rush had a 164 (85-79).
“Knowing that we pretty much had our entire team coming back, we knew we had a good chance of winning a state championship and that was the goal all year,” Marshall said. “That’s how we prepared in each tournament. Just go out there and win, and we did that pretty consistently.”
Marshall said improved depth was a major factor in the team’s success. It was the program’s sixth Finals title.
“That’s been a major theme the entire year,” he said. “Knowing you have great players who are going to back you up takes a lot of the pressure off, especially when you know you’re not playing your best.”
The Cougars fired an impressive 313 in the first round to open up an eight-stroke gap. They shot 320 on Saturday, and the lead proved too much for their competitors to overcome.
“(Friday) was very important,” Marshall said. “We knew we had to jump out to an early lead, and that’s what Coach was telling us the entire week.”
Jackson Lumen Christi began the final round in fourth place, but jumped to second after recording a tournament-low 317.
It was the Titans’ second straight runner-up finish after winning four straight Finals from 2009-2012.
Junior Henry Hitt shot a 150 (74-76) and placed runner-up to individual champion Scott Sparks of Macomb Lutheran North.
Junior Tyler Moser carded a 161 (81-80), while senior Patrick Campbell (85-79) and senior Jacob Anuszkiewicz (86-82) also contributed.
“We’re really pleased with how everything turned out,” Lumen Christi coach Charles Saines said. “At the beginning of the year we returned some experience, but not a lot of experience. We had two that had been to the state finals, so to finish second is remarkable for our squad. They showed a lot of heart and set the low round of the day.”
Sparks, a sophomore, shot a stellar 5-under 67 on Friday and carded a 76 on Saturday to cruise to his first title.
He finished with a 1-under 143 total and was the only golfer to shoot under par.
“Amazing, and I’ve been dreaming about this,” Sparks said. “My brother came in second here, and I always wanted to beat him. To win a state championship is unreal, and it really hasn’t set in yet. I’m sure when I go to a tournament down in Kentucky (on Sunday) that it will set in a little bit.”
Sparks was 5-under on the back Friday to gain control. He led by six shots entering Saturday.
“I just wanted to play steady and play my game,” Sparks said. “I got a little mad at myself when I had a bogey or two, but I came back with a birdie and played steady.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Lansing Catholic stands at The Meadows scoreboard after winning its second straight Lower Peninsula Division 3 championship. (Middle) A competitor lines up a putt during Saturday’s second round. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)