Finals Preview: No. 1s Eye Return to Top
June 13, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Battle Creek Lakeview, East Lansing, Lansing Catholic and Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Central all have rich traditions in boys golf. They're also the teams ranked No. 1 in their respective divisions by the coaches association heading into this weekend's MHSAA Lower Peninsula Finals.
But none of the four is a reigning champion – something they hope to remedy beginning with Friday's first rounds.
Below is a look at some of the expected team and individual favorites at each Final. First-round play tees off at 9 a.m. Friday, with the final round beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday. Click for a full list of Finals qualifiers and Regional results.
Division 1 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West
Battle Creek Lakeview finished a stroke behind champion Birmingham Brother Rice at last season’s Final, and Muskegon Mona Shores finished third and six strokes back. Lakeview and Mona Shores are ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, heading into this weekend. No. 9 Saline, No. 7 Plymouth and unranked Rockford also broke 300 at their respective Regionals. Detroit Catholic Central is ranked No. 4 after finishing sixth last season and winning the Division 1 title in 2010.
Battle Creek Lakeview: The Spartans shot an outstanding 287 on their home course, Cedar Creek, to win the Regional by seven, with sophomore Matt Alderink finishing second, senior Matt Garland third and senior Landon Osborne and freshman Andrew Walker among those tying for fourth individually. Garland is the reigning Division 1 Finals individual champion and Osborne tied for seventh last season; Alderink and sophomore Gabe Penegor also were in the lineup a year ago.
Muskegon Mona Shores: Five seniors hope to finish with their first championship and the school’s first since 2005. All five were in the lineup for last season’s third-place finish, and four of the five helped the team to a fifth place in 2011. Reed Hrynewich was the only Mona Shores player to make the Finals in 2010, when he tied for sixth individually as a freshman. They finished third at the Regional at Cedar Creek, with Hrynewich tying for fourth individually and Joel Maire tying for eighth.
White Lake Lakeland: The Eagles are seeking their first MHSAA title after qualifying for the Finals for the first time since finishing fifth in 1995. Lakeland tied with DCC for the team title at their Regional at Wixom’s Lyon Oaks with four juniors and a freshman in the lineup. Junior Alex Kleckner tied for second at that tournament with three more teammates among the top 15.
Detroit Catholic Central: Senior Charlie Green missed in the individual top 10 at last season’s Final by two strokes, but returns along with senior Corey Szmadzinski. The latter and sophomore Glen Piot tied for fourth at the Regional with Green tied for sixth. Green also was on the sixth-place Finals finisher in 2011 and the championship team in 2010 – when he tied for third individually.
Other individuals to watch: Grosse Pointe South sophomore Joe Becker tied for fourth last season, and Brother Rice senior Kyle Gaines finished sixth – and won the Regional at Wixom with a 68. Rockford junior A.J. Varekois shot the lowest Regional score in Division 1 last week, winning in Battle Creek with a 67.
Division 2 at the Meadows at Grand Valley State
East Lansing is ranked No. 1 as it pursues its first title since 2000. But reigning champion Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood has moved up to No. 2, and No. 4 DeWitt beat East Lansing at their Regional and owns two of the last three Division 2 titles (and finished second last season). No. 3 Grand Rapids Christian is playing for its first championship. Marshall, ranked No. 7, and No. 9 Detroit Country Day also were among five that broke 320 at Regionals.
East Lansing: The Trojans are back after a three-year Finals hiatus with a crew of five golfers who all averaged 40.7 strokes or fewer for nine holes this spring. Sophomore Joe Croom has been among leaders and tied for third at the Regional at Gull Lake View West, and Connor Danigelis tied for ninth and is one of three seniors hoping to finish with a team title.
Cranbrook-Kingswood: The Cranes reached the Final by a stroke after finishing third at the Regional at Fieldstone in Auburn Hills. But expect a bounce back this weekend with two top-10 individual finishers back from last season’s championship team. Senior Alex Papa and sophomore Dylan Deogun tied for 10th at the Regional and tied for ninth and fourth, respectively, at last season’s Final.
Grand Rapids Christian: Three players from last year’s lineup that finished eighth should lead a rise up the standings, led by junior Ben VanScoyk – who tied for sixth at the Diamond Springs Regional and was the team’s low Finals scorer a year ago. Senior Tom Voskuil and sophomore Sam Kuiper also were in last season’s lineup, and along with junior Tommy Rietema also finished among the top 15 at the Regional.
DeWitt: Sophomores Owen Beyer and Courtland Nelson joined holdovers from the back-to-back champions of 2010 and 2011 to help the team finish second a year ago. Beyer tied for third and junior Brandon Erickson for seventh at last week's Regional as the team finished one stroke ahead of East Lansing and seven better than No. 10 Richland Gull Lake.
Others individuals to watch: Hamilton sophomore Nick Carlson won the individual championship after a playoff last season and returns. Detroit Country Day junior Rishi Patel missed the top 10 last spring by four strokes but won his Regional last week with a 71. In addition to DeWitt, East Lansing and Gull Lake, the Gull Lake View West Regional also included the two low Regional shooters in Division 2 – St. Joseph junior Matthew Zerbel with a 69 and Plainwell junior Peter Torres with a 70.
Division 3 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley
Jackson Lumen Christi has owned Division 3 with championships the last four seasons – much like Grosse Ile dominated with five titles in six seasons from 1998-2003 and Lansing Catholic did with three titles in five seasons from 2001-05. Those three and Hanover-Horton are ranked highest coming into this weekend; Lansing Catholic holds the top spot, followed Lumen Christi, Hanover-Horton and Grosse Ile, respectively. Hanover-Horton was runner-up last season and owns one title, from 1993.
Lansing Catholic: The top four players from last season’s fifth-place Finals team will lead the Cougars into this weekend. Senior Jacob Johnson tied for eighth individually at last season’s Final and won last week's Regional at Glenbrier in Perry by two strokes with a 72 (and then a playoff). Sophomore Niko Voutaras followed in third and junior Brent Marshall in 10th; both were in last season’s lineup too along with junior Joey Jurkovic. Lansing Catholic owns an impressive win this season at the CAAC Open ahead of Division 2 contenders East Lansing and DeWitt.
Jackson Lumen Christi: Although senior Dean Hitt is the only returnee from the Titans’ latest MHSAA champion, his new lineup mates have kept with tradition. Senior Connor Maddalena shot 74 to win their Regional at Cascades in Jackson, and juniors Jacob Anuszkiewicz and Patrick Campbell tied for fifth as Lumen Christi won by 10 strokes over runner-up Hanover-Horton. Hitt will be playing in his third MHSAA Final.
Hanover-Horton: Senior Johnny Brockie and sophomores Brock Spink and Kenzie Brockie all are back from the team that led last season's Division 3 Final after the first round before finishing second after winning a tie-breaker. Kenzie Brockie tied for eighth individually that day and for 10th at last week’s Regional – where Spink tied for seventh and Johnny Brockie finished third.
Grosse Ile: The Red Devils lost that second-place tie-breaker last season, but hope to make a play for a third straight top-three finish with senior Jimmy Kobrick back from last season’s Finals lineup. He tied for 10th at that Cascades Regional and sophomore Nick Bonomici tied for seventh as Grosse Ile finished third as a team and seven strokes back of runner-up Hanover-Horton.
Individuals to watch: Grand Rapids West Catholic senior Sam Weatherhead won last season’s individual championship by four strokes with a 136 and shot a 75 to win his Regional last week at The Medalist in Marshall. Alma senior Brent Green tied for the lowest Regional round in Division 3 with a 72 before losing in the playoff at Glenbrier. Freshman Scott Sparks shot a 74 to win his Regional at Flint Elks by two strokes over senior teammate Dan Raicevich. A number of others shot 75s at Regionals.
Division 4 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers East
Top-ranked Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Central missed a third MHSAA title in four seasons by finishing five strokes back of Lake Leelanau St. Mary at last year’s Final. Saginaw Nouvel Catholic, No. 3 heading into this weekend, followed in third in 2012. No. 2 Suttons Bay and No.4 Fowler also posted top-seven finishes a year ago.
Kalamazoo Hackett: The Fighting Irish posted the lowest Regional score in Division 4 by seven strokes, 309, and return this weekend with the top four from last season’s runner-up team. Senior Ted Rider won last year’s individual championship by five strokes, and junior Colin Joseph tied for eighth; Joseph, senior Luke Stull and Hillsdale Academy senior Chip Blood all tied for first at last week's Regional on Hackett’s home course of Milham Park before Joseph won in playoff.
Suttons Bay: The Norsemen also return four from last season’s team, which finished seventh. Sophomore Devin Capron tied for first at their Regional at Spruce Run before losing in a playoff, but all five Suttons Bay players finished among the top 14 as the team won by 12 strokes with a 316.
Saginaw Nouvel: The Panthers should make another run at the title with three players back from last season including individual sixth-place finisher Brody Schiller. He finished second at the Regional at Pine River in Alma to sophomore teammate Nick Ludka – who shot a 72 and along with junior James Fabiano also was on the 2012 varsity. Nouvel won the Regional by 14 strokes with a 317.
Fowler: The Eagles finished second at their Regional at The Emerald in St. Johns, two strokes back of Pentwater. But they bring back three players this weekend from the team that finished sixth at the 2012 Final. Senior Andy Birchmeier tied for the team’s low scorer at that Final, and was the Regional runner-up last week after missing tying for first by a stroke.
Other individuals to watch: Seven of last season’s top 10 will play this weekend. Leland/Lake Leelanau St. Mary sophomore Joel Sneed won the tie-breaker last week against Capron at Spruce Run and finished fourth at last season’s Final. Manistee Catholic Central senior Zack Bialek was one spot behind Sneed last season and won the Regional at The Emerald. Auburn Hills Oakland Christian junior John Van Noord and Hillsdale Academy’s Blood also tied for eighth last season at Forest Akers West.
PHOTO: Hamilton's Nick Carlson won last season's Lower Peninsula Division 2 individual championship in a playoff and returns this weekend as the favorite. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)
D4 Champions Make Saturday Count
June 7, 2014
By Chip Mundy
Special to Second Half
BATTLE CREEK – It was better to be the hunter than the hunted Saturday in the MHSAA Division 4 Final at the Bedford Valley Golf Club.
White Pigeon was third after the first round Friday and trailed first-place Charlevoix by seven strokes, but made it up in a big way Saturday to win the second MHSAA title in school history – the first came in 2002 – by nine strokes over the Rayders and Lincoln Alcona.
Meanwhile, the same happened in the battle for individual champion. Junior Joel Sneed of Leland was third after the first day and trailed by four strokes, but shot a 1-over-par 73 to capture the title by four over Sam Wagner of Pentwater and Noah Schneider of Jackson Christian.
Schneider had a three-stroke lead after an opening 70 but ballooned to 81 on Saturday to open the door for Sneed, who grabbed the lead when he chipped in from a bunker on the 11th hole.
“Kudos to Noah,” said Sneed, who was fourth as a freshman and 11th last year as a sophomore. “He started out really, really solid, and I kind of expected him to be nervous at the beginning.
“It’s hard to play with the lead – I’ve been in that position before, but not in the state tournament but other tournaments – and it’s really, really tough to play with a four-shot lead. You feel like with every shot that you lose, ‘Geez, there’s another one gone.’ “I thought I was in a good spot.”
Sneed had solid rounds of 74 on Friday and 73 on Saturday. He had 16 pars and two bogeys on Friday and 13 pars with three bogeys and two birdies Saturday.
White Pigeon was similarly consistent with a 328 on Friday and 326 on Saturday. Its top four players each shot between 76 and 87 both days.
“We’ve been preparing for this for a long time,” White Pigeon coach Mark Olsen said. “The kids have really gone with the strategy of hitting the fairways and the greens – you can keep your score under control doing that - and it worked.
“They deserve the credit and followed the plan to the letter, and good things happened.”
The Chiefs broke it open when Riley Olsen, Andrew Mann and Jordan Olsen each birdied a hole simultaneously on Nos. 14, 15 and 16.
“When I birdied 16, I hit that putt, and I knew it was in,” said Riley Olsen, who led White Pigeon with rounds of 81 and 76 for a 157 total. “I fist-pumped, and our crowd went crazy. It was awesome. It felt great.”
Riley Olsen said he received some solid advice from his older brother Chase, who was on White Pigeon’s runner-up team in 2009.
“The par 5s out here are real tough – they have water and bunkers – so Chase said, ‘Why hit drivers and risk getting yourself in a bunker and then hit a long club and risk it again?’ So I hit hybrids and irons and made a couple of birdies on par 5s too, so it worked out perfect.
“I could not be happier with my game plan.”
Mann, who said he struggled a week earlier in the Regional, was second for the Chiefs with a 158 total after rounds of 76 on Friday and 82 on Saturday.
“I didn’t play very good at the Regional, and I learned a lot from it,” he said. “I wasn’t hitting good shots, so this week I worked really hard during practice, and it turned out great.
“It feels really, really good. I’m so proud of my team. We wanted to win, and we won.”
Freshman Jordan Olsen, younger brother of Riley and son of coach Mark Olsen, added rounds of 84 on Friday and 81 on Saturday for a 165. Like his older brother, he heeded some pre-tournament advice.
“Riley gave me some strategy for different holes and told me just to keep calm and have fun,” Jordan Olsen said. “Riley and I compete against each other in every practice every day, and we strive to beat each other, and that’s how we got better and how we got to where we are today.”
Coach Olsen said the addition of Jordan Olsen to the team this year was instrumental in it becoming a complete team.
“We did not even make it to the Regionals last year,” he said. “When my younger boy Jordan came into high school, that really strengthened the team, but I still didn’t think we would be this caliber of a team because it takes four.
“We had three all-state kids in 2009, but we didn’t have a fourth. This year, we had four that have been playing solid intermittently, and now we have them playing together. You have to have four playing together.”
The fourth this weekend was junior Christian Ryall-Shoup, who had back-to-back rounds of 87 for a 174 total.
“It’s crazy,” Jordan Olsen said. “We weren’t even expected to get to state this year, and the fact that we won is mind-blowing, especially as a freshman.
“We were hoping to get out of Regionals, and we won state.”
After the first round, Charlevoix led with 321, while Auburn Hills Oakland Christian was second with 327 and White Pigeon was third at 328.
“A 328 here is an awesome score, and we bettered it (Saturday),” Mark Olsen said. “This course is going to bite you. If you hit it into the trees, it’s a one- or two-stroke penalty every time. Our guys hit fairway to green, punch out of trouble.
“We have three basic rules: When you’re chipping, you get on the green; if you’re in the sand trap, you get out of the sand trap; if you’re in trouble, you get out of trouble safely and if they do that, they’re back to playing golf.”
White Pigeon went from a first-day score of 328 to 326, while Charlevoix jumped from 321 to 342 and Oakland Christian went from 327 to 341.
Riley Olsen said he wasn’t concerned about his team’s position after the first round.
“It was definitely a calming thing,” he said. “We knew the teams ahead of us were definitely thinking about it – you could tell by their scores. Both teams went 20 shots worse.”
Coach Olsen also was pleased with the position his team was in after the first day.
“We set out with the idea that we’re the hunter, so we started out trying to put the pressure on them and see what happens,” he said. “The other teams didn’t respond very well, and we just kept the gas pedal down, and it just worked out really well.
“I’d rather be the hunter than the hunted; I know that.”
PHOTOS: White Pigeon’s Riley Olsen follows a shot during the second round of the MHSAA Division 4 Final. (Middle) Leland’s Joel Sneed watches an approach on his way to claiming the individual championship. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)