Performance: Carney's Hunter Eichhorn
June 9, 2017
Hunter Eichhorn
Carney-Nadeau senior – Golf
Hailing from a school of just 90 students, Eichhorn added one more statewide accomplishment last week by becoming the first in MHSAA boys golf history to win four Finals individual championships. Eichhorn shot a 66 at Irish Oaks Golf course in Gladstone to win the Upper Peninsula Division 3 championship by four strokes, lead the Wolves to their third straight team title and earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Eichhorn averaged 34 strokes for nine holes and 68 strokes for 18 this season, cutting roughly three strokes off his tournament average. With Carney-Nadeau having an enrollment of fewer than 100 students, Eichhorn was eligible to play high school sports as an eighth grader and tied for second at the 2013 U.P. Division 3 Final before winning the event the next four seasons. Entering his last Final on June 1, he was one of six players in MHSAA history who had won three individual titles and the most recent since Manistique's Mike Nagy won his third in 2012 (before going on to play at University of Tennessee).
His talents aren’t limited to golf, however; Eichhorn played basketball all four years of high school and joined the varsity in that sport as a sophomore. Over the next three seasons, and only 65 games, Eichhorn scored 1,068 points and made 244 3-pointers – the 3s are tied for eighth most in MHSAA history. As a senior playing for Jacob Polfus – who also coached his golf team – Eichhorn averaged 23.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game and made a school record 86 of 171 3-point tries. He also set a single-game school record with 12 3-pointers against Milwaukee (Wis.) Academy of Science, and total connected on 50 percent of his shots from the floor and 88 percent of his free throw attempts this winter in helping his team finish 15-6. If those sports didn’t keep him busy enough, Eichhorn decided last fall to run cross country for the first time, and he finished third in his graduating class with a 3.86 grade-point average. He’ll continue at Marquette University on scholarship with the men’s golf team, and study business communications.
Coach Jacob Polfus said: “Hunter is the true definition of a workhorse, and he shows that with hard work you can achieve anything. You see so many kids these days talk about working hard, but Hunter is a kid who strives to be the best at everything that he does. Since he has been a little kid, he has spent many hours on the golf course perfecting his game. He is someone that will go to the range after meets, or go play another 18; he is constantly looking to improve his game every day. The biggest improvement that he has made over the years is how he handles himself on the golf course. He has come to realize that you aren’t going to hit the perfect shot all the time, or you aren’t going to have the perfect round, but he keeps his confidence high at all times. It is hard to put into words what Hunter has done for the golf program and for golf in the U.P. He has shown kids today that you can achieve anything that you want if you are willing to work hard and go after your dreams. … Hunter has the same demeanor on the basketball court as he did with his golf game. He was always striving to be his best and get the best out of others. He always gave me his most and a lot extra every single practice and every single day. He is someone that was constantly at the gym wanting to and willing to improve his game every chance that he got. He is one of the hardest workers that I have seen in my eight years of coaching. The biggest thing about Hunter on the basketball court was how much he cared for his teammates. His stats show how good of a season he had, but that doesn’t even begin to tell what kind of player he was. He was always there for his team, leading them through drills and showing them how hard you have to work to be successful. He is a coach’s dream to have on your team, and he exemplified everything that you want as an athlete both on and off the court.”
Performance Point: “It was something that as a freshman or sophomore, I didn’t see that day coming because I don’t look that far ahead,” Eichhorn said of his four golf championships. “It was special, especially to go out the way I did. I couldn’t have honestly dreamed of having a better performance in my last UPs. … It’s unique. In a community like this you know everybody; you have to, there’s only a certain amount of you there. So (becoming the first four-time champ) is a special feeling. I’m honored to be the one to do it.”
Thanks, Grandpa: “When I was younger, basketball always was my first sport. I golfed with my grandpa a couple of times and ended up just loving it. Summers when I was younger, I’d go over there for three or four days and we’d golf in the morning and again in the afternoon, playing as much as we could. That’s where it came from, just from him.”
Getting better, body and mind: “As I got older, I hit the ball farther. But really it was just the mental toughness in golf; that’s what it comes down to. At a certain point it’s just believing in yourself and recovering from the unexpected without getting frustrated.”
Grind it out: “When I was younger, it was cool to hit a great shot. But I like the part about (golf) now when if you’re struggling or playing good, you just keep grinding it out. Just keep pushing. That’s by far my favorite part, just getting better, because no matter how good you are you can just get better at it. You can play the round of your life, but I guarantee you can look back at a shot or two where you could have been better.”
Hoops crossover: It’s the same as golf; when basketball season rolls around, it’s winter and I don’t play golf as much, obviously, but I love the grind for basketball too – more than I thought I would. With basketball, I joined for something to do, for fun, and I ended up having a deep passion for that one too.”
U.P. power: “It’s just a passion for the game. I enjoy getting out and practicing every day. I know we’re limited (by the weather), but when golf season arrives, it’s what we do, what we dedicate our summer to. That’s why the U.P. has produced good golfers. It’s cool, knowing I’m coming from this area – we have a school with 17 kids in my graduating class – and the U.P. being the U.P. and how small it is, with a limited time to be playing golf. It is a pride thing, to be honest.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2016-17 honorees:
June 1: Grace Stark, White Lake Lakeland track & field – Read
May 25: Brendon Gouin, Gaylord golf – Read
May 18: Hannah Ducolon, Bay City All Saints softball – Read
May 11: Mason Phillips, Salem track & field – Read
May 4: Lillian Albaugh, Farwell track & field – Read
April 27: Amber Gall, Shepherd track & field – Read
April 20: Sloane Teske, East Grand Rapids tennis – Read
March 30: Romeo Weems, New Haven basketball – Read
March 23: Jaycie Burger and Maddie Clark, Pittsford basketball – Read
March 16: Camden Murphy, Novi swimming & diving – Read
March 9: Ben Freeman, Walled Lake Central wrestling – Read
March 2: Joey Mangner, Chelsea swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 23: Isabelle Nguyen, Grosse Pointe North gymnastics – Read
Feb. 16: Dakota Hurbis, Saline swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 2: Foster Loyer, Clarkston basketball – Read
Jan. 26: Nick Jenkins, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling – Read
Jan. 19: Eileene Naniseni, Mancelona basketball – Read
Jan. 12: Rory Anderson, Calumet hockey – Read
Dec. 15: Demetri Martin, Big Rapids basketball – Read
Dec. 1: Rodney Hall, Detroit Cass Tech football – Read
Nov. 24: Ally Cummings, Novi volleyball – Read
Nov. 17: Chloe Idoni, Fenton volleyball – Read
Nov. 10: Adelyn Ackley, Hart cross country – Read
Nov. 3: Casey Kirkbride, Mattawan soccer – Read
Oct. 27: Colton Yesney, Negaunee cross country – Read
Oct. 20: Varun Shanker, Midland Dow tennis – Read
Oct. 13: Anne Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country – Read
Oct. 6: Shuaib Aljabaly, Coldwater cross country – Read
Sept. 29: Taylor Seaman, Brighton swimming & diving – Read
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTO: (Top) Carney-Nadeau's Hunter Eichhorn watches one of his shots during an event this season at Escanaba Country Club. (Middle) Eichhorn holds the Division 3 championship trophy after last week's U.P. Final in Gladstone. (Photos by Dennis Grall and Mike Mattson, respectively.)
Top Talent Teeing Off in Upper Peninsula
May 10, 2017
By Dennis Grall
Special for Second Half
ESCANABA - With golf courses like TimberStone, Greywalls and Sweetgrass already ranked among the best in Michigan, and Sage Run expected to join that list soon, Upper Peninsula golf is becoming increasingly high class.
Also contributing are some quality golfers past and present. Scott Hebert and Becky Iverson are already in the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame, and Syd Wells is in the Wisconsin Golf Hall of Fame and a prime nominee for the Michigan golf hall.
Players like Mike Nagy, twin brothers Dan and Dave Ellis, Carley Saint-Onge and Avery Rochester have made an impact, and now high school products like Hunter Eichhorn, Bryce Douglas and others are making similar strides.
Eichhorn, a senior at Carney-Nadeau High School, was the Wisconsin Golf Association's junior player of the year in 2016, played in the national Junior Amateur and has a golf scholarship to Marquette University. Douglas, a senior at Gladstone High School, has a golf scholarship to University of Detroit Mercy.
Thursday they were joined in a threesome at the Escanaba Invitational at Escanaba Country Club by Escanaba High School senior John Kositzky, who has committed to play golf at Wisconsin Lutheran University, a Division III school in Milwaukee.
Heading the female ranks is Paxton Johnson, an Escanaba High School sophomore southpaw who has similar potential.
Wisconsin Lutheran coach Adam Volbrecht attended Thursday's six-school tournament and walked with Kositzky's college-bound trio.
"I was very impressed. I saw some really good golf," Volbrecht said, surprise obvious in his voice. "If you think it is good, it is way better than you think."
He was particularly impressed by Eichhorn, who went birdie-birdie-bogey-eagle on the last four holes of the front nine en route to a 4-under par medalist round of 67. "Hunter is as good a junior golfer as I've seen," he said, adding the overall performances were stronger than he saw in a Milwaukee area tourney the previous day.
He was amazed to see the level of golf on display since Upper Peninsula weather has not made it easy for golfers to hit the links this spring. "It is a big transition jumping right out of winter and going under par," he said. "I saw some very good golf without there being a really good reason for it (because of tough weather conditions Thursday and all spring)."
Volbrecht also liked the fact many of the players he saw are multiple-sport athletes. Eichhorn was an all-conference basketball marksman, Douglas is a former football player and Kositzky actually was attracted to Wisconsin Lutheran to play football before deciding on golf. "There are some benefits to being well-rounded," said the WLU coach.
Volbrecht also enjoyed seeing numerous fans watching the first medal-play event of the season, noting "the Upper Peninsula golf culture. Golf is important up here."
Eichhorn, a three-time U.P. Division 3 individual champion, was excited to play with Douglas and Kositzky. "It was a great challenge. I like playing in bigger meets because I know they will push me to play even better. With great competition you've got to lock in a little more," he said, indicating stiffer competition will help prepare him for the challenge of playing at Marquette, which just won the Big East Conference title and graduates only one senior.
Douglas, who beat Eichhorn in one meet last spring and was fourth in the Upper Peninsula Golf Association men's tournament last year, shot 71 on Thursday. "It was really fun competing with them today. It narrows my focus. You want to do better," he said.
"(Eichhorn) is the best player at our level. Of course you want to compare your game to his game." Douglas said. "It will give me an idea what it will be like to play college golf and will get me ready for what is to come."
Douglas plans to play in the UPGA again and will try to qualify for the Michigan Open, the Michigan Amateur and the United States Open.
Kositzky posted a 78 in the chilly, windy conditions and welcomed the chance to test his game against better players.
"Playing with guys like that, you want to try to keep up with them. I tried to stick to my game plan, but they influence you a little bit," he said. "It gives you that focus."
Escanaba High School coach Brian Robinette, himself a former state junior golf champion and Olivet College Hall of Fame golfer, was elated to see such a talented field of prep golfers.
"From the high school standpoint, golf is becoming cool again," he said, indicating a recent decline in girls golf has been a concern. "Getting kids comfortable on the course is a key. Our adult golf population needs to embrace the kids on the course."
Robinette said players like Nagy (Manistique), Saint Onge and Rochester (both graduates of Marquette) "have paved the way. They are high level, top-tier players."
He said having today's preps see what some of the recent standouts have achieved "gets the competitive nature going for these kids. There is really magnificent talent up here."
He also noted the impact of the Road to the LPGA's Symetra Tour visiting Sweetgrass the past six years as a huge bonus.
Robinette said players like Eichhorn and Douglas can use their length to make the transition to college golf. "(Douglas) will see some stud golfers, but his ceiling is pretty high."
He said Johnson, the reigning U.P. Division 1 girls champion, "has the drive to play beyond high school. She has her golf life mapped out. She can launch the ball with her driver, so now you're talking pars and birdies."
Robinette said South Dakota State University golf coach Casey VanDamme, a native of Perkins, also has been beneficial to U.P. golfers.
"It doesn't take much to find talent if you care to look," Robinette said of college coaches noticing the quality of players in the Upper Peninsula. "The U.P. is on a lot of people's radar."
Denny Grall retired in 2012 after 39 years at the Escanaba Daily Press and four at the Green Bay Press-Gazette, plus 15 months for WLST radio in Escanaba; he served as the Daily Press sports editor from 1970-80 and 1984-2012, and as interim during the 2016-17 school year. Grall was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and serves as its executive secretary. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for the Upper Peninsula.
PHOTOS: (Top) A college-bound trio of Upper Peninsula high school golfers played in the top threesome at Escanaba Country Club on Thursday. They included, from left, John Kositzky of Escanaba, Bryce Douglas of Gladstone and Hunter Eichhorn of Carney-Nadeau. Eichhorn, headed to Marquette University, was medalist with a 4-under-par 67. (Middle) Escanaba High School sophomore Paxton Johnson prepares to hit an iron approach to the 17th green Thursday at Escanaba Country Club. She is the reigning Division 1 Upper Peninsula girls champion and a potential college prospect. (Below) Bryce Douglas of Gladstone places the ball on the 17th green Thursday at Escanaba Country Club. The University of Detroit recruit posted par 71 in the Escanaba Invitational. (Photos by Dennis Grall.)