Golf Finals: Plenty of Familiar Faces
June 12, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The 2011 MHSAA Lower Peninsula Boys Golf Finals featured a number of outstanding performances from younger players still looking forward to one or more seasons left in their high school careers.
And that means this weekend's Finals will be filled with veterans and likely some much closer team competition than a year ago.
Three reigning team champions return four of their top five scorers from last season's tournament runs. Two individual champions also are back, along with half of the players who placed among the individual top 10 at the four Finals.
Below is a look at which teams and individuals could be competing for the top prizes by the end of this weekend. Play begins at 9 a.m. Friday, with the second round beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday.
Division 1 at The Meadows of Grand Valley State
Team favorite: It’s got to be reigning champion Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, which returns its top three and fifth scorer from the lineup that shot a solid 593 last season at Oakland University’s Katke-Cousins Golf Course. Last season’s runner-up, Davison, isn’t in the field this weekend, and no other team came within 12 of the Rangers in 2011.
Other contenders: Pinckney, Birmingham Brother Rice, Muskegon Mona Shores and Detroit Catholic Central finished third-sixth, respectively, last season, and all shot 605-617. Pinckney also brings back its top three and fifth scorer, while Brother Rice brings back four of its top five and Mona Shores its top three. Like Forest Hills Central, Plymouth shot a 296 at its Regional to finish tops in a tough field, and Traverse City West shot the low Division 1 Regional score, 293.
Medalist mix: Four of last season’s top 10 are back, led by FHC sophomore Max Rispler and Pinckney junior Otto Black. They tied for fourth last season, just two strokes off the lead, while Rangers teammates Andrew Yeager and Brody Fischer finished ninth and 10th, respectively, to cap their junior seasons. Mona Shores junior Reed Hrynewich should be back in the mix as well. He fell six strokes outside the top 10 in 2011, but tied for sixth as a freshman in 2010.
Division 2 at Ferris State’s Katke Golf Course
Team favorite: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood is ranked No. 1 after finishing runner-up a year ago at Forest Akers East. The Cranes are again led by reigning individual champion Griffin Smith, and senior Michael Ray tied freshman Dylan Deogun with a team low 80 at the Regional; Ray was the team’s third scorer last season.
Other contenders: DeWitt also returns two of its top five from last season’s team that shot an incredible 586 to win at Michigan State’s Forest Akers East. Seniors Tyler Polulak and Peter Von Spreecken have been augmented by freshman Owen Byer. Marshall is ranked No. 2 in the state poll and had four underclassmen among its top five at the Regional. Tecumseh posted the lowest Regional score in Division 2, 304, counting scores from five seniors.
Medalist mix: Cranbrook-Kingswood’s Smith, a senior, is likely to be chased again after shooting a 141 to win by two strokes in 2011 – although the top 10 last season was separated by a mere six strokes. Tecumseh’s Bobby Thomas, who tied for second, also is back after finishing two strokes off the lead. Big Rapids senior Blaze Hogan tied for seventh with a 146 and Polulak was 10th with a 147. Mason freshman Jason Brandt and Haslett senior Chris Beltzer also could make a push after shooting 71 and 73 at their respective Regionals – Brandt to finish second to Thomas, and Beltzer to win his.
Division 3 at Forest Akers East
Team favorite: Jackson Lumen Christi returns four of its low five scorers from last season’s 40-stroke win across the street from this season’s venue. Two of those players – seniors Austin Eccleton and Alex Reynolds – also finished among the top six individuals. Lumen Christi shot a 291 at its Regional to again crush the competition.
Other contenders: Although no one came close to the Titans a year ago, Grosse Ile came the closest among teams that return this spring, finishing third. The team’s top three and fifth scorer are back, led by senior Rob White, who like Reynolds tied for sixth individually in 2011. Hanover-Horton is ranked No. 3 in the state poll and like Grosse Ile shot a 307 at its Regional while taking two scores from freshmen.
Medalist mix: This came down to a tie-breaker a year ago won by Pontiac Notre Dame senior Aaron Knutson over Grand Rapids West Catholic junior Sam Weatherhead after both shot 140 over the first 36 holes. Knutson won his District and Weatherhead has been one of the state’s elite all season. But, again, this field is loaded, with Mount Morris senior Zachary Kiefer also back after tying for sixth last season.
Division 4 at Forest Akers West
Team favorite: By the rankings, it’s Saginaw Nouvel followed by Lake Leelanau St. Mary. But it’s hard to look past No. 3 Auburn Hills Oakland Christian. The Lancers, last season’s champions, bring back three of their top four from the 2011 Final, including two who finished among the top eight individually. Oakland Christian won last season’s championship by 11 strokes.
Other contenders: Nouvel does return two of its top three from last season’s Final, and shot a strong 311 at its Regional. Lake Leelanau St. Mary nearly matched with a 314 and has three of its scorers back from the team that finished 10th last spring. Ann Arbor Greenhills no longer has individual champion Henry Do – but does return four others who competed (two taking a round each in the fifth spot) for the team that finished second to Oakland Christian last season at The Meadows.
Medalist mix: Do might not be in the field, but seven of last season’s top 11 are led by reigning runner-up Ted Rider, a junior at Kalamazoo Hackett. Manistee Catholic Central junior Zack Bialik was a stroke behind him and Oakland Christian senior Zach Preuss was three back in finishing fourth among the individuals. Kalamazoo Christian senior Bailey Matheison, Saginaw Nouvel senior Dave Buko, Oakland Christian senior Tyler Coyne and Greenhills senior Travis Hindle all also finished among the top 10. Lake Leelanau freshman Joel Sneed looks like he might join that group after firing a 74 at his Regional.
PHOTO: Pontiac Notre Dame Prep's Aaron Knutson (left) and Grand Rapids West Catholic's Sam Weatherhead played in a tie-breaker for the Division 3 individiual championship in 2011.
Veteran Comets Prepping for Title Run
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
March 27, 2018
KALAMAZOO – Golf, barbeque and honoring Martin Luther King Jr. are on the agenda for Kalamazoo Christian’s boys golf team during spring break.
The six varsity players, coach Brian Seifert and their families are headed to Memphis next week.
“We plan to take in a couple of golf courses down there and also have the opportunity to play the TPC Southwind that hosts the FEDEX St. Jude Classic, so we’re excited about that,” Seifert said.
“We’re going to be at the Martin Luther King Jr. 50th anniversary of his assassination on the actual day, April 4, so it’s a little bit of an inspiration trip along with the golf to get us focused for a big run on the year.
“We’ll be down there to play some golf and eat some barbeque.”
Three of the Comets, who as a team finished third at the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final last year, had a bit of a delay in starting this season.
They were part of the K-Christian basketball team that lost in the Class D Quarterfinals last Tuesday.
While the rest of the golfers were already practicing, seniors Colin Sikkenga and John Cramer plus junior Ben Cramer did not pick up the clubs until Wednesday.
“The speeds are a lot different,” John Cramer said of the two sports. “After a little bit, you start to get used to golf again. The first week and a half or so, it’s a little tough to make that transition.”
Next sport, new home
Once they make that transition, the team will start the journey to what it hopes is another shot at an MHSAA title.
“It’s tough to win,” Sikkenga said. “It’s just two days of 18 holes. You’ve just got to get really hot those two days.
“That’s what it comes down to. Anyone can really win it. It just depends on how well you play those two days.”
Last season’s three other varsity golfers also are back: senior Derek Block and juniors Elijah Devries and Josh Bouma.
Although they lost their former home course when Thornapple Creek Golf Club closed last year, they moved to a closer one: Kalamazoo Country Club.
“That is pretty awesome,” said Sikkenga, a finalist for the coaches association’s Mr. Golf Award last year. “I’m excited. Hackett (Catholic Prep) would do their invite there, and I’ve done that since freshman year.”
The country club has not been home to a high school team in 40 years, according to Seifert.
“After 40 years, they said maybe this is the year to do it, and our ‘ask’ was at the right time,” he said. “It’s a matter of timing.”
Two of the golfers, Ben Cramer and Bouma, both caddy there in the summer and know the course layout very well.
“That will help,” Cramer said. “But most of us on the team have played the course quite a few times.”
Valuable experiences
Sikkenga and the Cramer brothers all started swinging the clubs at a very young age, but in different ways.
Sikkenga’s parents do not play golf, while dad Rick Cramer had a membership at Thornapple and started his sons in the sport.
“I had the Little Tike’s blue plastic club and I just started hitting balls,” Sikkenga said. “I loved to hit the ball really far. I think that’s why I liked it so much.”
Hitting the long ball is just one asset that put the scratch golfer on varsity all four years.
“The thing about Colin that is good for everybody else in his leadership is that he is so patient playing golf,” Seifert said of his senior captain. “That’s a real important asset to have in golf because it just takes so long to get around, and you get groups that get stacked up on top of each other.
“Nothing rattles him. That’s a real bonus when you’re playing golf.”
Sikkenga will attend Oakland University on a golf scholarship with an eye on a pro career.
“My goal since I’ve been little has been to play professionally,” he said. “It’s definitely a goal that is not easy by any stretch of the imagination.”
Oakland golf coach Nick Pumford talked about Sikkenga on the college’s web site.
"Colin brings a lot of national exposure and experience to our program,” he said. “Not only has Colin tested his game against the best players in the country, he's had success doing so.
“I'm looking forward to Colin carrying over that success and experience into our program next season.”
Besides playing their opponents, the Cramers also compete against each other.
“Oh yeah, there’s always a competition with my brother,” John Cramer said. “We always compare scores after the round. I usually win.”
But when a threesome includes their dad, “We’re pretty competitive because we’re all pretty much around the same kind of scoring level,” Ben Cramer said.
“It’s all fun, but our dad usually wins. He’s better than both of us.”
Let the fun begin
While the brothers share camaraderie on the course, one thing they do not share is their clubs.
“His are too short for me,” the 6-foot-5 Ben Cramer said. “(John) is 5-7.”
Seifert calls John Cramer the Magic Man.
“He can get up and down from spaces that most people can’t,” the coach said. “He likes to scramble when he plays golf. It’s not uncommon for him to run together five, six long putts in a row for par or birdie just to keep the round going.
“Golf’s a matter of streaks sometimes. You get on a roll, and he can find those sometimes and put quality rounds together.”
It is also a mental game, Ben Cramer said.
“You have to be focused all the time when you’re around the ball. You have to focus on how far you’re hitting, what the wind’s doing.”
Cramer describes himself as the jokester of the team.
“I joke around a lot,” he said. “I lighten the mood. I’m never really sad.”
Seifert agreed.
“Ben carries us well with his humor,” he said. “The whole team is a load of fun to be with. For him, he’s so quiet and unassuming that you would never know if he’s having a good round or a bad round. It’s kind of like calling him patient.
“He doesn’t get down on himself. I think that’s where I noticed him being the most improved last year. He got better with each shot. Even if he did hit a bad shot, the next one was right on the money.”
None of the three boys have had hole-in-one, but their coach, who is a pastor at Milwood Community Church, has had two.
“My mom taught me to play golf when I was 5, and I haven’t stopped since,” said Seifert, who grew up outside of Seattle.
“For a number of years I managed a golf resort, so I played a lot of golf that way.”
In addition to his two aces, “I also had a double eagle, an albatross,” he said. “I’ll take that.
“Golf’s meant to be having fun, and it’s hard to score when you’re not having fun. If you’re not enjoying it, there’s no point doing it.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Kalamazoo Christian’s Ben Cramer lines up a putt. (Middle top) Clockwise from top left: Kalamazoo Christian coach Brian Seifert, senior Colin Sikkenga, senior John Cramer and junior Ben Cramer. (Middle) Seifert, left, and Sikkenga survey the scene during play last season. (Below) John Cramer putts last spring. (Action photos by Daniel J. Cooke [top two] and Cheryl TenBrink, head shots by Pam Shebest.)