No. 5 Leads Lansing Catholic to Repeat
June 7, 2014
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
ALLENDALE – The return of three players from last year’s MHSAA championship squad produced similar expectations this season for the Lansing Catholic boys golf team.
The Cougars were able to duplicate last year’s feat, winning the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final on Saturday at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University.
Lansing Catholic made it back-to-back titles by firing a 633 total. Runner-up Jackson Lumen Christi finished eight shots back and shot a 641, while Kalkaska was third at 645.
“The mindset going into the season with the players we had back was to repeat,” Cougars coach Charlie Furney said. “From the very beginning, that was our goal, and I think the key to this year compared to last year was they all lowered their stroke averages.
“We averaged 10 strokes better this year for every 18 holes we played, and we did that because of depth. All five of our kids could score in the 70s anytime they wanted.”
Ironically, it was a player who didn’t compete in last year’s Finals that set the tone for Lansing Catholic.
Junior Patrick Gillespie, the team’s No. 5 player, led the Cougars and tied for fourth individually after shooting a 152 with rounds of 77 and 75.
“It’s been an awesome couple of days,” Gillespie said. “I didn’t get to play in the state finals last year, and that’s what pushed me to get there this year. I hit it straight the last two days, and my drives were really good.”
Furney was impressed by Gillespie’s play, which made the coach reconsider his all-state nominees.
“He carried us, and he had a mission,” Furney said. “He told me at the beginning of the tournament, ‘if I shoot a couple scores in the 70s do you think you can put me up for all-state?’ because he was our fifth guy and I was thinking about putting four up. So he obviously convinced me that I’m going to have to put him up.”
Lansing Catholic’s lone senior, Brent Marshall, placed eighth overall at 156 and carded rounds of 75 and 81, while junior Niko Voutsaras shot 160 (75-85) and sophomore Owen Rush had a 164 (85-79).
“Knowing that we pretty much had our entire team coming back, we knew we had a good chance of winning a state championship and that was the goal all year,” Marshall said. “That’s how we prepared in each tournament. Just go out there and win, and we did that pretty consistently.”
Marshall said improved depth was a major factor in the team’s success. It was the program’s sixth Finals title.
“That’s been a major theme the entire year,” he said. “Knowing you have great players who are going to back you up takes a lot of the pressure off, especially when you know you’re not playing your best.”
The Cougars fired an impressive 313 in the first round to open up an eight-stroke gap. They shot 320 on Saturday, and the lead proved too much for their competitors to overcome.
“(Friday) was very important,” Marshall said. “We knew we had to jump out to an early lead, and that’s what Coach was telling us the entire week.”
Jackson Lumen Christi began the final round in fourth place, but jumped to second after recording a tournament-low 317.
It was the Titans’ second straight runner-up finish after winning four straight Finals from 2009-2012.
Junior Henry Hitt shot a 150 (74-76) and placed runner-up to individual champion Scott Sparks of Macomb Lutheran North.
Junior Tyler Moser carded a 161 (81-80), while senior Patrick Campbell (85-79) and senior Jacob Anuszkiewicz (86-82) also contributed.
“We’re really pleased with how everything turned out,” Lumen Christi coach Charles Saines said. “At the beginning of the year we returned some experience, but not a lot of experience. We had two that had been to the state finals, so to finish second is remarkable for our squad. They showed a lot of heart and set the low round of the day.”
Sparks, a sophomore, shot a stellar 5-under 67 on Friday and carded a 76 on Saturday to cruise to his first title.
He finished with a 1-under 143 total and was the only golfer to shoot under par.
“Amazing, and I’ve been dreaming about this,” Sparks said. “My brother came in second here, and I always wanted to beat him. To win a state championship is unreal, and it really hasn’t set in yet. I’m sure when I go to a tournament down in Kentucky (on Sunday) that it will set in a little bit.”
Sparks was 5-under on the back Friday to gain control. He led by six shots entering Saturday.
“I just wanted to play steady and play my game,” Sparks said. “I got a little mad at myself when I had a bogey or two, but I came back with a birdie and played steady.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Lansing Catholic stands at The Meadows scoreboard after winning its second straight Lower Peninsula Division 3 championship. (Middle) A competitor lines up a putt during Saturday’s second round. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)
Cabrini's Logan To Tee Off in Finals First
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
June 9, 2016
ALLEN PARK – The summer of 2015 was a season of change for Katie Logan.
A senior-to-be at Allen Park Cabrini, she had played the game of golf since she was 3 years old and had been a solid player throughout high school. She’s played on the varsity golf team all four years – but she competes on the boys team.
Logan said she’d never come close to qualifying for the MHSAA Finals in the past and was unaware that she soon could be making history, thanks in part to strides made in her game the last two years and especially last summer that helped her get on par with the best of her spring competition.
Other girls have competed on boys golf teams, but it’s not common. And, until now, it is believed Logan might become the first girl to compete at the MHSAA Boys Golf Finals as an individual qualifier.
“My freshman year was hard,” she said of competing during boys season. “I wasn’t used to it. It was intimidating. Last year I started to hit it as far, or farther, than the guys.”
Michigan High School Athletic Association rules allow a female athlete to compete with the boys, as long as she does not also play on her school's girls team in the same sport during the same school year. Cabrini does not sponsor a girls golf team due to a lack of participation.
Logan, 17, shot a 7-over par 79 in the Regionals at Atlas Valley Country Club in Grand Blanc last weekend to qualify, as an individual, for the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final to be held Friday and Saturday at Forest Akers East Golf Course in East Lansing.
The fact that she was able to match her teammates with her drives did much for her confidence.
And then last summer, Logan began working with Brian Cairns, one of the state’s top teaching professionals, out of Fox Hills Golf and Banquet Center in Plymouth. Under Cairns’ tutelage, Logan’s game took off. Last summer she shot a career-low 74 at the Lakes of Taylor, her home course.
“Everything came together,” Logan said. “I’m executing shots now. He’s really good with the short game. But it’s really just the mechanics.
“He helped me to be more confident. Before, I would kind of like be a downer.”
Young players have a difficult time accepting that everyone hits bad shots from time to time. Perfection doesn’t exist in this game. Golf teaches patience, and if a player has difficulty forgetting a bad shot and moving on to the next it can wear on her or him. Winning is most often not a measurement used to define success in golf. Good players often strive for consistency.
Kevin Logan was the one who introduced his daughter to the game and taught her the basics. When he realized he had gone as far as he could, Cairns stepped in.
“Right now, when she competes against the boys, it’s her consistency that carries her,” Kevin Logan said. “She darn near hits every fairway with her drives. When she plays against the girls, it’s her length that sets her apart.”
Katie Logan is a good athlete. She was captain of her volleyball team, and she said the average length of her drives is 260 yards.
And just because Logan is a girl doesn’t mean she catches a break playing with the boys. She hits from their tees and keeps pace. In some respects, playing from the men’s tees is an advantage.
“With the guys the courses are 6,300 or 6,400 yards,” she said. “In the summer I’m playing on much shorter courses, 5,800 or 6,000.”
According to Logan, a top-10 finish is not out of the question. She’ll have to be on her game for that to take place. Last year’s Division 3 medalist shot 144 for 36 holes, but that was at Forest Akers West, a more challenging track than the East. The Division 2 final was held at East last year, and the medalist shot 134. The two players who finished in 10th each shot 146. Logan needs to break 150 to have a chance at the top 10.
Regardless, she has already broken barriers and taken positive steps toward her future in the game. Her handicap was two in 2015, and last fall she signed to continue at Central Michigan University.
“I’m very excited,” she said of playing in the Finals. “It was one of my big goals.”
Tom Markowski is a columnist and directs website coverage for the State Champs! Sports Network. He previously covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Allen Park Cabrini’s Katie Logan putts to finish off a hole this season. (Middle) Logan tries to send a spike through an opposing block during volleyball season in the fall. (Photos courtesy of the Allen Park Cabrini athletic department.)