Five proves key for Cougars in D3

June 15, 2013

By Greg Chrapek
Special to Second Half

Five was the key number during the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Boys Golf Final at the Bedford Valley Golf Course in Battle Creek.

Division 3 powerhouse Jackson Lumen Christi was aiming for its fifth straight championship, while Lansing Catholic was looking to snap Lumen’s string and win the fifth golf title in Cougars history. 

For two days the two powers battled it out. And in the end it was Lansing Catholic that came out ahead.

Thanks to a strong Saturday, the Cougars finished with a team score of 613 to defeat Lumen Christi by five strokes. 

The seeds for Lansing’s Catholic’s title actually were sewn last season when the Cougars recorded a five of another kind – finishing fifth at last year’s Final.

That team, however, had no seniors in the lineup and all five starters were back this spring. 

“We had high expectations going into the season,” Lansing Catholic coach Charlie Furney said. “We pretty much had our entire team coming back. We set a goal of improving on that fifth-place finish, and we figured we had enough talent to finish on top. And that is what we did.”

Balance was key to the victory as all five Cougars finished within 15 strokes of each other. 

Junior Brent Marshall led the way as he carded rounds of 73 on the first day and 74 on the second to finish with a 147. That score was good enough for second place as an individual – but the team title was more on Marshall’s mind.

“It felt great,” Marshall said. “That was our goal going into the season, and it felt great to fulfill it.” 

Marshall was not the only Lansing Catholic golfer to finish among the top 10 individually, as senior Jacob Johnson put together rounds of 79 and 73 to finish with a 152 total and in a tie for ninth.

The Cougars also received a 156 from Adam Elias, a 160 from Joey Jurkovic and a 162 from Niko Voutsaras. 

“The key was our number five guy Adam Elias,” Marshall said. “He shot a 75 on the second day. He really came through and helped us push ahead of Lumen Christi.”

That 75 came in handy for the Cougars, who trailed Lumen Christi by seven strokes, 304-311, heading into the final day.

“We have two very good players in Johnson and Marshall,” Furney said. “We knew that in every tournament we would have a couple of low scores. The key to our success is our depth, and the number three and four players. In the District and Regional our fourth score was 89. The key for us was to get that fourth score in the low 80s, and that’s what we did.” 

Lansing Catholic’s fourth score on Friday was an 81 from Elias, while on Saturday the fourth score was an 80 from Voutsaras.

While the title was the fifth for the Cougars, it was the fourth under the watch of Furney. Furney also coached the Cougars to titles in 2001, 2004 and 2005. 

“Every one is special,” Furney said. “This year’s team was a little different in that we had two returning all-state players.”

With all but Johnson returning next season, the Cougars will be looking to add back-to-back titles for the second time in 10 years. 

“We graduate our best player, and it will be a big loss,” Marshall said, “but we have all our other players returning, and we hope that we can make up for it.”

For runner-up Jackson Lumen Christi, a fifth straight title was not something that was expected heading into the season. 

“We lost five of our top six players from last year’s team,” Lumen Christi coach Dave Swartout said. “It was really a rebuilding year for us. We didn’t start out very well this season, but the kids really worked hard at their game.”

That hard work was evident on the first day of the tournament as the Titans totaled a 305. The Titans then finished with a 314 on Saturday. 

Connor Maddalena led the way for the Titans as he finished third individually with a two-day total of 148. Dean Hitt finished in a tie for fifth place as he totaled 150 for the tournament. Jacob Anuszkiewicz and Henry Hitt both totaled 160 for the tournament.

“They played very well,” Swartout said. “They played well enough to win.” 

Individually, senior Sam Weatherhead of Grand Rapids West Catholic defended his title as he claimed medalist honors for a second straight season. Playing on his future home course, the Michigan State University recruit won the title going away by seven strokes.

After shooting a 72 on Friday, Weatherhead turned his game up a notch and carded a 68 on Saturday to finish with a 140 total. 

“It was a good way to go out my senior year,” Weatherhead said. “I was down a couple of strokes after the first round. I came back on Saturday and shot my first round in the 60s all season. It felt good especially after I was in the 60s a couple of times last year.”

Weatherhead credited his work on the green as being the key for his second-day charge.

“I had a lot of putts fall for me on Saturday,” Weatherhead said. “I was coming close and burning the edges on Friday, and on Saturday they were falling. I probably hit about the same amount of greens and fairways on Friday, but the 15-footers were falling for me and that was the difference on Saturday.” 

Weatherhead built momentum early Saturday and kept it going throughout the day.

“I think I made six birdies and two bogeys,” Weatherhead said. “I had a couple of key up-and-downs coming into the last five holes. I thought the course set up well for me. It was a nice way to cap off the year.”     

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PHOTOS: (Top) Lansing Catholic's Brent Marshall watches a putt roll toward the cup on the way to his individual runner-up finish at Bedford Valley. (Middle) Grand Rapids West Catholic senior Sam Weatherhead won the individual championship for the second straight season. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)

Norway's Kelly, St. Ignace Score D2 Titles

June 2, 2016

By Dennis Grall
Special for Second Half

NORWAY – There was considerable squirming at Oak Crest Golf Club on Thursday, and we're not even talking about the players who put on a good run for medalist honors.

No, the parents of the top two contenders tried to keep their emotions in check while taking the roller coaster ride as their sons battled for first place at the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 2 boys golf tournament.

Eventually, Tom and Michelle Kelly of Norway had a chance to exhale as their son Bryce emerged as medalist with a 78 to slip past 2015 champion Riley Thompson by a stroke. Kelly parred the last two holes while Iron River West Iron County's Thompson had a two-putt bogey-4 on No. 17 and then hit a short chip shot for a tap-in par-4 on the last hole.

Both contenders had a topsy-turvy back nine, to their chagrin and that of their parents. Kelly bogeyed holes 11-12-13 and doubled 15 while Thompson went double bogey-bogey to start and then hit an eagle-3 on No. 3 to pull within a stroke. He lost a stroke with a bogey on 14 but got one back with par on 15, and a birdie on 16 brought him into a tie that was broken on the short 17th.

"I can feel the good and the bad. I'm there cheering for him," Tom Kelly said. "It was hard when they had that swing. I could see the frustration in him."

Chris Thompson also was hanging on as his son went up-and-down. "You're learning a life lesson," he said of the difficult finish. "Bryce regrouped after a couple of bad shots, then Riley regrouped after he thought he was out of it.

"I've coached too long (football assistant, his son was quarterback) and I know they have to work through it themselves."

Bryce Kelly had the key shot on No. 18 when he reached the heavily-sloped green (low on the front) from a tough sidehill lie in the 18th right rough. "I knew I had to hit a good wedge on 18," he said. With the ball below his feet, he added, "I did not want to go right. I wanted to get it left and stay below the pin. I hit a pretty darn good shot."

Riley Thompson's drive on 18 was about 25 yards ahead of Kelly’s and just inside the 100-yard marker. However, Thompson’s approach was well short as he decelerated his wedge and fell about 10 yards shy of the green. He chipped on and nearly jarred the approach for the tying birdie.

"I've never really been in a situation at the close," he said of feeling the pressure down the stretch. "I made a mental mistake (while putting for par) on 17."

The eagle provided a major boost after a tough front.

"It (eagle) gave me confidence, but then I made some mistakes on the next two holes," he said. "I'm happy the way I played the back nine. I dug a deep hole after 10 but I showed some ability to grind through and get back at it."

Kelly, who is thinking about trying to be a walk-on for the Northern Michigan University golf team in the fall, was excited with his title. "This is a little special, especially doing it on my home course really topped it off."

St. Ignace claimed the team title with a 339, nine strokes fewer than Norway. Coach Claudette Brown watched her daughter Margo take medalist honors last year as a senior, then saw her boys team finish first a year later.

"I'm so overwhelmed. They are all pretty consistent," she said. "The boys were hoping to win. The kids can focus and do what needs to be done. I told them to focus on where they are."

She said the Saints made a big statement last month by winning a tournament in Charlevoix, beating perennial power Traverse City West in the process. She used three juniors and two freshmen for the Final on Thursday.

Junior Carter Tallaire, playing at No. 1, said "we thought we had a pretty good chance at it." He added that the Charlevoix tourney "gave us a lot of motivation. That really set the tone. We realized we could play good."

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PHOTOS: (Top) Kyle Johnson of Iron Mountain blasts out of a tough lie in a bunker shy of the 16th green at Oak Crest Golf Club on Thursday during the Upper Peninsula Division 2 Final. (Middle) Bryce Kelly of Norway watches his birdie putt attempt roll just past the 18th hole. His par enabled him to win medalist honors with a 78. (Below) St. Ignace won the team championship; the team includes, from left, Andy Metz, Carter Tallaire, Kody Rickley, Hunter DeKeyser, Drew Marshall and coach Claudette Brown. (Photos by Denny Grall.)