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.”
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.)
Eichhorn Leads Carney-Nadeau Title Hunt
May 29, 2015
By Keith Shelton
Special for Second Half
GLADSTONE — Carney-Nadeau sophomore Hunter Eichhorn has displayed a flair for playing under pressure in a tournament atmosphere. He proved it as a freshman a year ago, winning a playoff for his first Upper Peninsula medalist.
This year however, there was nothing but dominance.
Eichhorn blazed through the course at Irish Oaks, collecting multiple birdies and blowing the rest of the field away with a 4-under par 68 — among the lowest scores in recent U.P. Finals history — to once again take medalist honors Thursday at the Upper Peninsula Division 3 Final.
Eichhorn's 68 came in six strokes better than anyone else, and also bested his winning score from last season by three strokes — the result of relentless work to continually improve his game. In fact, after finishing his round Thursday, Eichhorn immediately went back to work on the putting green, displaying the kind of work ethic rarely seen in a young athlete.
"I always like to improve. I keep putting in time, and it was nice to see the results show that," Eichhorn said.
Carney-Nadeau head coach Jake Polfus has seen Eichhorn's competitive side come out plenty of times before, but is still impressed by it.
"What does he do when he gets done with his round? He goes to the putting green," Polfus said. "How many kids do you see do that, especially when you have to walk that far. It's a tribute to how much time he puts in."
Like a true competitor however, though generally satisfied with his round — he came up with six birdies and avoided a double bogey — Eichhorn remained slightly critical of himself.
"I didn't hit my tee shots very straight today, but I putted well and I was able to recover. I hit some solid iron shots from places I didn't want to be in," he said. "I had two good eagle putts and both came about an inch from the hole, but tapping birdies aren't that bad I guess. I had one bad lip-out for par, and I 3-putted another hole, but that was about it."
Led by Eichhorn, the Wolves also were able to claim the team title for the first time in school history with a total score of 342 — two strokes better than Munising and DeTour — among the 23-school field. That largely was due to the performance of sophomore Kage Linder, who shot a career-best 86, and freshman Chase Linder, who shot 53 on the back nine, but recovered to card a 45 on the front, coming in under 100 for that final push.
"Chase played a lot better in the front, and Kage had his best round of the year by about 8-10 shots. That's huge," said Eichhorn. "To be able to get a team trophy for the first time is pretty awesome. It's all about the team. I like to improve on myself and win, but it's nice to get a team trophy."
Painesdale-Jeffers, which was shooting for a U.P. Finals four-peat, settled for fifth and couldn't overcome a steep drop-off after runner-up medalist Jacob Zerbst's 74. All five of Cedarville's golfers came in under 100 as well, as the Trojans placed fourth with a team score of 347.
Thursday marked the final event of Dave Duncan's long coaching career. Duncan, who has a 429-166 record coaching boys basketball, will retire just as his son Joey, an all-state basketball player and solid golfer in his own right, graduates.
There was much anxiety and excitement toward the end of the day as players and coaches gathered around the scoreboard. Munising and DeTour were among the first complete teams to finish, and both came in at 344. The tiebreaker went to Munising, with the Mustangs' fifth golfer Kyle Welters (98) providing the necessary edge.
The Wolves may not be going anywhere, anytime soon. All five of their golfers Thursday were freshmen or sophomores, and with the star power of Eichhorn, interest in the program could only grow. On Thursday, Eichhorn was the only golfer to have a decent-sized gallery following him throughout the day.
"Hunter really played great today, better than I think he was even expecting. For as much golf as he plays, he's only going to get better," said Polfus. "Chase going from a 53 on the back nine to a 45 out front, that's huge for us, and really made a big difference. Kage shot his best score of the season.
"It's just awesome," Polfus added. "The kids were excited as they were adding up the scores. It's really cool."
PHOTOS: (Top) Carney-Nadeau’s Hunter Eichhorn unloads a shot en route to a first-place 68 at Thursday’s Upper Peninsula Division 3 Final. (Middle) Painesdale-Jeffers’ Jacob Zerbst lines up a putt on No. 14 at Irish Oaks Golf Club. (Photos by Keith Shelton.)