Everest Collegiate Pulls Away on Second Day
June 10, 2017
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – There couldn’t have been three more appropriate words for Clarkston Everest Collegiate boys golf coach David Smith to describe the past, present and future of his golf program at the moment.
“It’s all good,” Smith said.
No kidding.
The past was already good heading into this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers East, since Everest Collegiate entered as the reigning champion.
The present turned out to be good as well, since Everest Collegiate successfully defended its title, accumulating a two-day score of 629 to outlast runner-up Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian by 11 strokes.
If all that weren’t enough, the future could be even brighter for Everest Collegiate since it loses only one golfer from its lineup heading into 2018.
It’s all good, indeed.
As for Saturday’s successful defense of last year’s championship, Everest Collegiate showed its resolve on the second day after finishing in a tie with NorthPointe Christian the first with identical scores of 319.
Everest Collegiate played like a team that had been on the big stage before, seeing three golfers break 80 on the second day, led by sophomore Mitch Lowney’s 71.
Senior Joey McMahon shot a 76 and junior JC James fired a career-best 78 to flank Lowney for the Mountaineers.
Junior Nick Korns added an 85 for Everest Collegiate.
“They couldn’t wait to get here,” Smith said of his team entering the second and final day. “There was not a single guy who was nervous. They all have been to states. They knew exactly what to expect.”
NorthPointe Christian also had three players break 80 on Saturday, led by sophomore Erik Fahlen, Jr., who shot a 75. Junior Hayden VanErmen shot a 78, and junior Logan Holtkamp followed up a round of 71 on Friday also with a round of 78 for NorthPointe Christian, which couldn’t quite match Everest Collegiate’s depth past the first three scorers.
However, none of players in NorthPointe Christian’s lineup were seniors, so everyone should return a year better and wiser in 2018.
“Disappointed that we didn’t win, but it was a good year,” NorthPointe coach Erik Fahlen, Sr., said. “Our four and five guys have never been to the state finals before. We don’t have any seniors in the starting five, so we got a good shot (next year).”
Individually, Clinton sophomore Austin Fauser won the medalist honor after collecting a two-day 139, three under par.
Fauser played as a freshman in the Finals last year and had a clear gameplan for Forest Akers East this week.
“I knew what I needed to do and the shots I needed to hit,” Fauser said. “I practiced all wedge shots throughout the week. It’s a little more open so you can hit driver out here a lot.”
Lowney was the individual runner-up, finishing four shots behind Fauser with a two-day total of 143 (72-71).
PHOTOS: (Top) Clarkston Everest Collegiate’s Kevin Meehan watches a shot during Saturday’s Division 4 Final second round. (Middle) Another of Saturday’s competitors follows his approach. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Wykons Sweep UPD2 Boys Championships
May 30, 2019
By Adam Niemi
Special for Second Half
IRON RIVER – West Iron County defended its home turf, sweeping the boys and girls MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 2 Finals on Thursday.
The Wykons' boys carded a team score of 319 at George Young Resort, located 10 miles east of Iron River.
Norway (366) took second place, followed by Hancock (362), St. Ignace (366) and Newberry (388) to round out the top five.
Trey Bociek paced West Iron County with a first-place 74. Norway's Drew Anderson (77) was second, and teammate Jeff VanHolla (78) tied with the Wykons' Nathan Thomson for third.
The team championship was West Iron’s second straight and third in five seasons.
"Obviously No. 1, very pleased," West Iron County head coach Mark Martini said. "No. 2, I think it's overlooked how both teams (boys and girls) started poorly and fought through it like a fourth-quarter football game. They fought right back, and I'm kind of proud of that. That was really good."
West Iron County's girls team won with a 433.
Norway head coach Joby Sullivan said the UP Finals bring out the best in the team aspect of golf.
"I know that some of the boys thought they weren't playing a great round of golf. But holistically, that's what’s great about these individual-dual sports is you may not be doing so well but the overall team, the big picture of it, can come around," Sullivan said. "A couple West Iron kids might have triple-bogeyed a par-3, and then one of their other kids on 15 had a bad hole. That opened the door for us to make a push down the stretch. We didn't capitalize on that, which would've been what we needed to do to make it close.
"It's exciting. When there's something that's happening, it's like the mile relay in a track meet where one team can end up winning it based on the results of that. Down the stretch, it was going to be close for that. It would've been nice to capitalize on that stretch on 13 through 18."
Sullivan said Anderson's 77 was his personal best.
"Drew came in with a 77, which was I think that's his best round ever," Sullivan said. "He was one under all the way through until a double bogey on 16 for his back-nine score. Which was great. Jeff (VanHolla) came in and played well with a 78. He had a couple putts at the end to finish out. He really played some good golf. He and Drew really did a nice job.”
The course was personally designed by the late George Young, a millionaire and passionate golfer whose design for each hole on the Iron County course was derived from the favorite holes he played from different courses around the world.
A wet course from recent rains slowed the greens and made various parts of multiple fairways a mud hazard of sorts. But the sand traps were dry and fooled golfers who landed in bunkers from a wet fairway, causing some to anticipate a heavy sand impact and instead overshoot the green.
If that wasn't enough, the woods hug most fairways. Some tee shots resulted in the echoing sound of a ball bouncing off tree branches, trunks and a heavy sigh from golfers.
The course difficulty and conditions meant Thursday was simply about limiting mistakes.
Austin Salani placed eighth for Hancock with an 85. His brother Colton tied for 12th with a 92. Brimley's Justin Carrick and St. Ignace's Reid Marshall also carded a 92.
PHOTOS: (Top) West Iron County's Nathan Thomson fires an iron shot during Thursday's championship round. (Middle) The Wykons girls and boys championship teams. (Photos by Adam Niemi.)