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Emeralds' Nagy a Hidden Gem No Longer
May 10, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
An opposing golf coach joked this spring that he'll always be able to say he beat Manistique's Michael Nagy – when Nagy was 12.
Other opposing coaches consider it a privilege to grant their players the opportunity to walk a match with the reigning Upper Peninsula champion.
What does Nagy mean to U.P. golf? His signing with the University of Tennessee last fall might be considered on par with a basketball player going to a power league like the Atlantic Coast Conference, or a football player heading to the Big 12.
All happen – but rarely, especially to U.P. athletes playing warm-weather sports. Plus, when Nagy signed in November, he guaranteed he’ll become only the second Division I athlete in any sport from Manistique High since Ron Rubick finished his football career at Michigan State in 1963.
“I thought it was a remarkable stat,” Nagy said. “It makes me want to do good and keep getting better.”
Nagy received a Second Half High 5 this week as he puts the finishing touches on a career that has included Upper Peninsula individual championships in 2009 and 2011 and a runner-up finish in 2010 when he fell in a two-hole tie-breaker.
Though the story of a star golfer emerging from the cold-weather north gets told on occasion, a feat like Nagy’s is rather uncommon.
Although high school season starts in mid-March, in Manistique it takes until the start of May for the weather to come around completely.
And while some bigger towns have indoor domes or other facilities where players can hit balls during the winter, Nagy’s indoor practice facility is a net in his garage, plus another smaller net he uses for chipping.
But this fall, he'll begin his college career with the Volunteers, who play in the Southeastern Conference and like many schools in the south fill most of the roster with players from states in warmer climates that allow for more play throughout the year.
“Mike is very hard-working, very humble. That would be the word for it,” Emeralds coach Deb Taylor said. “He has just blown everybody away when he plays. But he’s not the one to go bragging about it.”
Each Peninsula has its own MHSAA Finals for golf, meaning Nagy gets to see the best from the rest of the state only during summer events – the closest of which is a three-hour drive from home, with most more than six. He made trips about twice a month last summer, spending most of July playing in Wisconsin, and still had the kind of success that ranked him among the best in this state for his age group.
Golf isn’t the most popular sport among his Manistique friends. Nagy also played basketball – he set a school record this season with six 3-pointers in a game – but most of his course time spent with friends is low-key.
With golf teammates, he won’t give suggestions unless asked. But players on his and opposing teams no doubt benefit from his presence.
“A lot of coaches now say they are putting so and so with Mike today, (or) they want someone to golf with Mike,” Taylor said. “It makes them better players too. They want that competition.”
Although Nagy also has a job at his home course, Indian Lake in Manistique, he didn’t grow up in a golfing family by the traditional definition. His older brother was friends with Steve Larson, a Manistique grad who went on to become the 2006 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year at Grand Valley State. At 11 or 12, following his brother and Larson, Nagy started giving the game a try.
“I just kinda got hooked on it,” he said.
A year later, Nagy began taking lessons from former Rock Mid-Peninsula standout Casey VanDamme – who also played collegiately, rose up the teaching ladder and became Tennessee’s assistant coach in 2009.
VanDamme told Volunteers’ head coach Jim Kelson about Nagy, and Kelson came to watch him play – and was sold.
Par at Indian Lakes is 36, and Nagy’s average the last four seasons usually has hovered around that mark. He’s at 35 for nine holes currently, and set a school record as a sophomore with a 31. Although he wasn’t sure if it is an 18-hole school record, Nagy shot a 66 in last year’s Mid-Peninsula Athletic Conference championship tournament at Gwinn’s Red Fox Run. He shot a 60 at last summer's Indian Lake's club championship to set that course's record.
He shot a 74 to win Wednesday’s Negaunee Kiwanis Invitational by five shots – the fourth time he’s won that tournament. He’ll go for his third MHSAA championship the first weekend in June – and then leave a legacy that could go unmatched for years to come. Click to read more about Nagy's dream playing partners and future plans.
PHOTO: Manistique's Michael Nagy has signed with the University of Tennessee and is set to become his high school's first Division I college athlete since 1961. (Photo courtesy of the Manistique Pioneer Tribune.)
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Stretch Run, Sand Save Seal DeWitt Title
June 6, 2015
By Mark Meyer
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – Standing in a greenside bunker at the 18th hole and staring at perhaps one of the most important shots of his high school career, DeWitt senior Geoffry Croley calmly grabbed his sand wedge and helped seal his team’s MHSAA title in dramatic fashion.
Croley’s unlikely birdie – a one-hopper off the flagstick and into the cup – was one of several key title-savers for the Panthers, who edged Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 594-595, to win the Division 2 championship at Forest Akers East on Saturday afternoon.
Croley’s younger brother, freshman Joey, rolled in a par putt on his last hole (the 16th) and earned a big pat on the back from coach Dave Koenigsknecht.
“A lot of big shots down the stretch, because we knew it was going to be tight,” said Koenigsknecht, whose team finished seventh last year. “We didn’t get off to a great start, but the kids battled all day and hung on at the end.”
Senior Owen Beyer, who shot a medalist round of 5-under-par 67 on Friday, led the Panthers with a two-day total of 2-under-par 142. Geoffry Croley finished three shots back at 145, Joey Croley carded a 153 and junior Ian Helm finished at 155. Senior Mike Coscarelli counted a 79 Saturday and finished at 160 for the two days.
The MHSAA title was the third in six years for DeWitt, which also captured Division 2 championships in 2010 and 2011.
“Ian Helm, Mike Coscarelli and Joey Croley have really improved in the past couple of weeks,” Koenigsknecht said. “As they started to shoot some scores in the 70s, their confidence picked up and made us a much better team heading into regionals.”
Walking down the fairway at the par-3 18th hole, Geoffry Croley was hoping to get up and down in two shots from the bunker.
“I knew we were close (with Cranbrook Kingswood) and had a feeling it might come down to the last hole,” Croley said. “I picked my spot, the ball took one hop, hit the stick and the tears started falling faster than the ball could hit the hole. What a special way to end the season.”
Senior Dylan Deogun led runner-up Cranbrook Kingswood with a 3-under-par 141 while sophomore Devin Deogun shot 145. Sophomore Wyatt Fryckman (154) and senior Matt Jacobs (155) completed the scoring for the Cranes, who were the defending champions and top-ranked team in Division 2 entering the Final.
Junior Spencer Schab led third-place Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (603) with a 146 while senior Trevor Goslin carded a 144 (69-75) for fourth-place Dearborn Divine Child (605).
Hamilton senior Nick Carlson won his second individual Finals title by shooting an 8-under-par 64 to finish the tournament at 10-under-par 134.
“Yesterday (Friday) I didn’t have a whole lot right going for me, but today was the opposite,” said Carlson, who is headed to the University of Michigan. “I chipped in from 40 yards out on the 11th hole for birdie and made a 50-footer on the eighth hole, again for birdie. It was one of those days when a lot of very good things happened.
“If I didn’t hit a good drive or good approach, I was able to chip it close and save a shot here and there.”
Carlson won the Division 2 title as a freshman in 2012 and finished second the past two seasons, including last year at Forest Akers West.
“This last week of golf was the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” Carlson said. “I was loose, relaxed and really enjoying where I was at. On the last hole I just wanted to soak it all up and savor the moment.”
Hamilton coach Kevin Arnold has been watching Carlson play at Diamond Springs Golf Course in Hamilton since he was 5 years old.
“A real pleasure to coach and a fine young man,” Arnold said. “I didn’t do much for Nick other than to act as a sounding board for occasional advice. He’s worked long and hard to get to this point and I’m very happy for him. He deserves all the accolades because he’s worked hard to get to this point.”
PHOTOS: (Top) DeWitt’s Geoffry Croley watches his birdie chip on No. 18 on Saturday; it fell into the cup and helped decide the Division 2 title in the Panthers’ favor. (Middle) Hamilton’s Nick Carlson smiles after receiving his championship medal, the second of his career. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com).