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.)

Lake Orion Savors Championship Sweep

June 8, 2019

By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half

FRANKENMUTH – After 18 years of dreaming about this moment as head coach of the Lake Orion boys golf program, the reality obviously turned out to be even better for Monty Gallaher.

Since taking over the program, there have been tears over not being able to qualify for the Finals despite playing Regionals on the home course, years with disappointing finishes when his team had qualified for the championship tournament, or simply years when there wasn’t enough talent to win much of anything.

But the only tears Gallaher and the rest of Lake Orion’s team shed after the Lower Peninsula Division 1 tournament at The Fortress in Frankenmuth on Saturday were tears of joy after the Dragons captured their first MHSAA Finals title. 

Lake Orion finished with a two-day score of 606, 11 shots better than the 617 put up by runner-up Grosse Pointe South.

Rockford was third at 621, Detroit Catholic Central shot a 623 to finish fourth and Hartland was fifth with a 624.

“I just feel a little numb right now,” Gallaher said. “I’ve known we can do this. We’re a great team. But finally seeing it happen, it’s winner winner, chicken dinner here in Frankenmuth.”

The Dragons took a 10-shot lead after posting a 294 for Friday’s first round, and actually were 18 strokes worse as a team on the second day.

But other than Grosse Pointe South, no other team was noticeably better to the degree needed to catch Lake Orion. 

South entered the day 23 shots behind Lake Orion, a gap that was too much to overcome despite its better play during the second round.

But the reigning champion rallied to earn another runner-up finish, its third in four years to go with the title won last year. 

“One of the things I stressed is that if you’re making good choices, there’s no regrets,” Grosse Pointe South head coach Rob McIntyre said. “Good choices lead to no regrets. They went out there and made some good choices today.”

Even better for Lake Orion was that it celebrated the individual champion as well after junior Justin Sui defeated Grosse Pointe South senior Coalter Smith in a playoff after each shot two-day scores of 141 (71-70).

After each parred the par-5 10th hole, Sui sank a 10-foot putt for par on the par-4, 9th hole to clinch the title as Smith was lining up a 6-footer for bogey that would have potentially forced a third playoff hole if Sui missed.

“I was really excited,” Sui said of his mindset going into the playoff. “I had the adrenaline rushing, and everyone was watching. The team was cheering me on. It felt great. I feel like I played better during the playoff than normal.”

Lake Orion senior Drew Coble flanked Sui by finishing in a tie for fourth with a two-day total of 145 (70-75). 

Senior Andrew Remer shot a 159 (76-83), and junior Zach Hay had a 161 (77-84) to round out the top four for Lake Orion.

Gallaher said having to sleep on a 10-shot lead after the first night wasn’t too nerve-racking for his team, mainly because the Dragons kept as normal a routine as possible.

Instead of staying at a hotel in Frankenmuth, the team drove back home after Friday’s round, with Remer actually attending the school’s prom Friday night. 

“I made the executive decision to sleep in our own beds,” Gallaher said. “We do all kinds of tournaments in southern Ohio and northern Michigan, where we stayed over and we didn’t play great. That was a determining factor. We didn’t win those tournaments and I said, “That’s what we are here to do, to win this tournament.’”

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PHOTOS: (Top) Lake Orion got out to a 10-stroke lead during Friday’s first round at The Fortress. (Middle) Grosse Pointe South made a run at the title Saturday, finishing second for the weekend. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)