Norway, West Iron's Thomson Take Championship Strides
By
Matt McCarthy
Special for Second Half
June 2, 2021
GAASTRA — West Iron County's Nathan Thomson enjoyed the comforts of competing at his home course Wednesday, as the Wykons senior captured the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 2 boys golf championship at the George Young Recreational Complex in Iron County.
Thomson, a senior, shot a 77 to take home medalist.
"The greens were really fast today, faster than I have ever seen here," said Thomson. "I play here almost every single day. But it's awesome to win U.P.'s here."
It was also a blustery day at times, which Thomson noted came up in spurts.
"There was a point on hole 11, where I could see the ball moving on the green because of the wind, as I was waiting to putt," Thomson added.
Norway took home the team title by a significant margin over runner-up Hancock, 328-357, with four Knights finishing among the top seven individuals including runner-up Jeffrey VanHolla with a 78.
The team title was Norway’s fourth and first since 1988. The Knights had finished Division 2 runners-up six of the last eight seasons, including back-to-back to West Iron County in both 2018 and 2019.
Evan Anderson shot an 80 to finish third, followed by Drew Anderson with an 84 in fifth and Carson Chartier with an 86 for seventh. Tyler Parker with a 105 rounded out Norway's lineup on the day.
Two years ago (before COVID-19 caused last season to be canceled), Drew Anderson was second and VanHolla and Thomson tied for third at the Division 2 Final which also was at George Young.
"I don't know what else was different here today besides the fast greens, but I usually shoot lower scores here, especially the last two rounds I played here before today," said Drew Anderson, a junior this season.
Fourth place among individuals went to Mason Mikesch of Hancock with an 81. Finishing in sixth place was Jeff Starzynski of Stephenson with an 85, and Justin Carrick of Brimley and Ricky Brown of Iron Mountain tied for eighth place with 87s. Chad Nordstrom of Hancock and Josh Magnusen of Newberry tied for 10th with 90s.
On the team side, Brimley was third with a 382. The next three teams were separated by two strokes – St. Ignace fourth at 405, Iron Mountain fifth at 406 and Pickford seven carding a 407.
Newberry at 416, Watersmeet at 419, Munising at 422, Stephenson at 433 and Bark River-Harris at 520 rounded out the team scores.
PHOTOS: (Top) West Iron County's Nathan Thomson unloads a drive during his championship round Wednesday. (Middle) Norway celebrates its first team Finals title since 1988. (Photos by Matt McCarthy.)
Norway Sweeps Team, Individual Championships as Anderson Wraps Up 1st Title
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
June 1, 2022
IRON RIVER – Norway’s Drew Anderson finished second individually at his Upper Peninsula Boys Golf Final as a freshman.
Now, as a senior, he’s a U.P. champion. And so is his team.
Anderson won the individual title with an 83 on Wednesday at the Division 2 Final at Young’s Golf Course. As a team, Norway clinched its second-straight Division 2 championship with a 353.
“I’ve been working for this moment for four years, so I’m pretty happy,” Anderson said. “But I’m also happy for the squad. We’ve been working hard and always wanted this.”
Norway hadn’t won a U.P. Finals boys golf title before last season since 1988, despite seven runner-up finishes. Norway coach Ben Leiker believes his father, Dan, was on that 1988 team.
“(Drew) comes from a family of golfers; his dad was a great golfer, his grandpa was a great golfer,” Leiker said. “To be an Anderson in Norway, you have to be a good golfer.”
Drew certainly seems to be.
“For him to be a senior and go out on top was nice,” Leiker said.
Anderson had one of his highest scores of the season Wednesday, but Leiker said the wind was the main culprit.
“His number doesn’t look as good as his performance actually was,” Leiker said.
Anderson said he struggled to hit greens because of the wind.
“I tend to hit a high ball, so it really took a factor on me,” he said. “I only hit three greens today actually. The wedges were on point, but tough greens, too; it was pretty quick. It’s definitely different than the home course, so (I was) happy I could walk away with a win.”
He was two strokes better than teammate Carson Chartier, who shot an 85, which was good for third place in the individual standings.
“They’ve been carrying us the whole year,” Leiker said.
St. Ignace finished one stroke back of Norway in the team standings, shooting a 354.
Carson Bigger of St. Ignace was second individually with an 84, and teammate Trevor Visnaw was fourth with an 87. Hancock’s Chad Nordstrom placed fifth with an 88.
PHOTOS (Top) Norway’s Carson Chartier putts on a windy 18th green during Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Division 2 Final at Young’s Golf Course. (Middle) St. Ignace’s Ely North advances his ball out of a bunker on the 17th hole. (Photos by Jason Juno.)