Mona Shores Packs a Powerful Swing
May 2, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The chances are good Muskegon Mona Shores will continue facing more senior-laden opponents this spring.
But just because the Sailors are made up of all juniors and freshmen, it doesn’t mean they don’t carry significant experience onto the course.
Juniors Reed Hrynewich, Andrew Van Aels, Joel Maire and Eric Kastelic all were among the team’s top five scorers at last season’s Division 1 Final at Oakland University. And although none placed among the individual top 10, the team finished fifth overall.
“We’re more poised,” Mona Shores coach Tom Wilson said. “We were fifth at the state finals last year, and I think there was a little bit of intimidation there. It was the first time the whole team had been there – Reed had been there as an individual – and I think they’ve picked up a lot from that.”
Mona Shores’ golf team gets Second Half’s team High 5 this week after winning, by a stroke, the always-competitive Traverse City Central Invitational this weekend at Spruce Run and The Wolverine.
The Sailors didn’t finish first in either round over the two-day event. But they finished second in both, shooting 309 on Friday at Spruce Run and 297 on Saturday at The Wolverine for a combined score of 606 strokes – one fewer than Division 1 top-ranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and two fewer than then-No. 5 Traverse City West.
Mona Shores is ranked No. 2 in Division 1. And as evidence of the respect given to the Traverse City tournament, three more teams from the weekend’s field have since been added to that state poll’s top 10.
Hrynewich shot a 69 to finish second at the Wolverine and a 75 to finish fifth at Spruce Run, and Van Aels finished eighth individually in both weekend rounds. Maire and Kastelic also both shot at least 82 in both rounds, and together the four have been making significant contributions since the start of high school.
“They were kind of leading the pack when they were freshmen,” said Wilson – who has led four teams to MHSAA championships, including two over the last 11 seasons.
But the juniors represent part of a line-up loaded with potential. Freshmen Glen Kastelic and Mitchell White fill the remaining starting spots. At Monday’s O-K Black Jamboree at Watermark Golf Course, also a win, both freshmen shot 36, with Hrynewich 37 and Van Aelt a 38.
Hrynewich is a significant presence at the top of the lineup. He’s been an all-stater his first two seasons – he tied for sixth in at the Division 1 Final as a freshman – and also was a hockey all-stater this winter.
A skillful swing runs in the family. His father Tim played two seasons in the NHL for the Pittsburgh Penguins. And Reed’s twin sister also is among the state’s golfing elite – a three-time top-five Finals placer as Mona Shores’ girls golf team has won the last three Division 2 championships.
The Kastelic brothers also are strong hockey players, and Wilson said there’s certainly a connection between the two sports and their reliance on strong hand-eye coordination.
He’s had strong hockey players lead some of his other top Mona Shores teams – and this one is beginning to show a championship look as well.
PHOTO: Mona Shores junior Reed Hrynewich lines up a putt during last season's Division 1 Final, where the Sailors finished fifth.
Brothers Stalcup Pace Division 4 Field as Everest Collegiate Climbs Again
June 10, 2023
BATTLE CREEK – The battle within the battle that decided the Lower Peninsula Division 4 championship Saturday was not an unfamiliar one for the Stalcup brothers.
Just 10 days ago the Stalcup boys led Clarkston Everest Collegiate to a team Regional championship while matching up to finish first and second individually, senior Remy followed by sophomore Parker, separated by just two strokes.
This weekend at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley, the results were nearly identical. The Stalcups led Everest to the Division 4 Final championship – the program’s first since 2017 and after the Mountaineers finished runner-up a year ago. And the Stalcups finished first and second individually – Remy shooting a two-round 142 to finish Finals medalist for the second time, and Parker just six strokes back in second place.
“It’s pretty awesome to do it a second time in my high school career,” said Remy Stalcup, who also claimed the individual title in 2021. “He had me on the ropes a little bit down the stretch, but I pulled it out.”
Everest shot a 315 on Friday to bring a 10-stroke team lead into the final round, and finished with a 625 – 17 strokes clear of runner-up Hillsdale Academy.
Remy Stalcup shot a 70 on Friday to lead individually by six strokes with 18 holes to play. But when Parker Stalcup birdied No. 13 on Saturday, he pulled within two of the lead – and then Remy bogeyed No. 14, cutting his advantage to a single stroke.
“I was about to beat you, but it didn’t happen,” Parker Stalcup said as he and his brother interviewed together after the round was complete. “I thought I had him going into 14, and then I just hit a couple of bad drives, which led to some bogeys. And I just lost it from there.”
Hillsdale Academy’s Rykert Frisinger and Maple City Glen Lake’s Blake O’Connor tied for third, shooting 150s. Everest sophomore Will Pennanen bolstered the Mountaineers’ effort with a 155 to tie for seventh individually.
“Remy is the captain of the team … (and) the team chased him so it makes the whole team better, chasing him all the time,” Everest coach David Smith said. “And he’s actually become a great leader. So he’s actually encouraging them and actually taught them a bit about his game … and he’s encouraging and voting for them to make birdies and go after him. It’s a good bunch of kids that follow him around, and that’s why we were successful.”
Remy Stalcup had tied for third and Parker had tied for 15th at last season’s Final as the team finished runner-up to Lansing Christian.
Remy was the only senior in the team’s lineup this weekend, and Parker said he and his teammates will be ready to pursue a repeat title.
“He’s a little Pac-Man. That guy’s just going to chew people up. He doesn’t stop (for) nothing,” Smith said of the younger Stalcup. “’He’s always looks forward, never looks backward.
“He’s going to be good for a long, long time. He may be better than his brother at the end of the day. We’ll see.”
PHOTOS by High School Sports Scene.