UP Golf Finals: Westwood, Houghton win again
June 2, 2012
The Houghton and Ishpeming Westwood girls golf teams continued their Upper Peninsula Finals dominance to highlight finishes at the MHSAA championship tournaments Thursday and Friday.
The Gremlins shot a 365 to repeat as Division 1 champions, at Wawonowin Country Club in Champion. Westwood, meanwhile, repeated as Division 2 champion and earned its fourth-straight MHSAA title – the Patriots also won Division 1 in 2010 and Division 2 in 2009 – by shooting a 411 at Newberry Country Club.
All five Houghton players shot 91-94, led by sophomores Megan Kelly and Kenna Farrey and senior Hannah Hill all with 91s. Marquette junior Avery Rochester won the Division 1 individual title with an 82, three strokes better than Calumet senior Zoe Woodward.
Megan Manninen and Berkley LaFreniere shot 87 and 90, respectively, to take the top two individual spots and lead Westwood to its team championship. The Patriots finished 40 strokes better than runner-up Bark River-Harris.
At the Division 3 Girls Final at Terrace Bluff, Cedarville won its first championship since 2004 by shooting a 431, 23 strokes better than runner-up Painesdale-Jeffers. Junior Cayla Massey shot a 95 to finish second individually and led Cedarville, while Crystal Falls Forest Park’s Alexis Gussert shot a 90 to win the individual championship.
The Painesdale-Jeffers boys won their first MHSAA championship in that Division 3 Final, at Highland Golf Course, thanks to 79s by senior Matt Zerbst and sophomore Tyler Bailey. Those scores tied for third individually, behind first-place freshman Joe Duncan of Cedarville’s 76 and Forest Park senior Dustin Dishaw’s 77.
The St. Ignace boys won their first MHSAA championship as well, at Division 2, led by individual medalist Patrick Sweeney. He shot a 71 after finishing sixth individually last season.
The Houghton boys claimed their first MHSAA title since 2000 by beating Gladstone at the Division 1 Final on a fifth-scorer tie-breaker. Both teams shot 329, but Houghton’s fifth player shot a 90, one stroke better than the fifth for Gladstone.
Manistique senior Mike Nagy – who has signed to play next season at the University of Tennessee – shot a 70 to win his third MHSAA individual championship. He finished five strokes better than Gladstone senior Drew Scheenemun, while Houghton freshman Brendan Longhini and Kingsford junior Nick Baldwin tied for third with 77s.
Click for full girls results and boys results.
Chipelewski Leads Talented Marquette Lineup to Impressive Title-Clinching 300
By
Caden Sierra
Special for MHSAA.com
May 30, 2024
MARQUETTE — The Marquette boys golf team showcased its depth while taking advantage of its home Marquette Golf Club course Wednesday to capture the team title at the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1 Final
The young Sentinels separated themselves from the competition by more than 20 strokes, taking the top spot with an impressive four-player score of 300 while placing three of the top five individuals. They beat out runner-up Houghton, which had 321, and third-place Escanaba with 325.
Manistique came in fourth with 332 strokes, followed by Calumet in fifth with 333.
“These kids put in a ton of time, and we had a lot of depth,” veteran MSHS head coach Ben Smith said right after the result was determined. “Not only playing here today, but a lot of kids who have been in matches and played really well throughout the spring.
“It’s never easy … 300 is a really good score, and I'm really proud of the kids and the effort that they put in.”
The Sentinels’ Kaleb Chipelewski won the medalist honor by topping the leaderboard with 72 to edge teammate Boden Moore by a single stroke. The tight race for the top was followed by Baraga’s Cage Osterman just another stroke back at 74, with three more golfers tying for fourth with 75 — Marquette’s Jack Pond, Houghton’s Brenden Jukuri and Escanaba’s Shane Wallin.
“I played really good; my (place) was high,” Chipelewski said. “Just came in, birdies on (Nos.) 2 and 3. Then bogeyed (Nos.) 7, 11 and 12, scored a couple more. It was really nice.”
Moore was both happy and a bit frustrated after coming so close to the top.
“I hit the ball really well, played really well, just couldn't get a putt to go in pretty much,” the runner-up said. “I ate a bunch of pars, but the team had a great round, so it (is) a good win.”
Pond had his own take on the Final, making a reference to NBA legend Michael Jordan — perhaps an unusual reference for someone who wasn’t even born when the famed Chicago Bulls player won his half-dozen league titles.
“It was like my MJ-flu-type game,” he said, referring to the time Jordan was sick but still gutted out one of his best games in the finals. “Started off slow, shot a good score on the back nine for how tough it was out there. I started off hot with 1-under(-par) through (No.) 6 and then finished with a few bogeys, but ended up being a really good day overall."
The entire top 10 — actually a top 13 with a big logjam around 10th place — all shot in the 70s.
After the logjam for fourth, Westwood’s Tanner Annala was next in seventh with 76, while Escanaba's Graham Johnson was eighth with 77. Then came a five-way tie for ninth, each with 79 — Jonah Slawinski of Menominee, Ben Anderson of Calumet, Marino Pisani of Houghton, Carson Kronemeyer of Sault Ste. Marie and Landen Dougherty of Manistique.
Marquette's Pavel McCutcheon and Kingsford senior Lance Harry came right in at 80 to tie for 14th place.
“These kids have pretty good nerves and hang in there when there are some tough stretches,” Smith said. “They play some high-quality golf when they need to, and it was really nice to see them do that today.”
PHOTOS (Top) Marquette's Kaleb Chipelewski addresses his putt on the ninth hole during the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1 Final on Wednesday at Marquette Golf Club. (Middle) Houghton’s Marino Pisani watches his tee shot on the first hole. (Photos by Caden Sierra.)