Preview: Chasing Familiar Favorites
June 2, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Three of last season’s Lower Peninsula boys golf champions are expected to repeat this weekend, and three of last season’s four individual champions also will return.
The lineups at the top of this spring’s MHSAA Finals clearly will be elite – but the reigning champs are no sure things to win again as a number of standouts return throughout the field, including 24 total top-10 placers from a year ago.
Below are some expected team and individual favorites at each Final. First-round play tees off at 9 a.m. Friday, with the final round also beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday. Click for a full list of Finals qualifiers and Regional results.
DIVISION 1 at Katke Golf Course, Ferris State University
Top ranked: 1. Detroit Catholic Central, 2. Hartland, 3. Grosse Pointe South.
Detroit Catholic Central: The Shamrocks just made the MHSAA Final, finishing third at a competitive Regional at Oak Pointe Country Club in Brighton with 312 strokes – only two ahead of Novi and six ahead of Detroit U-D Jesuit. Sophomore James Piot tied for sixth at the 2014 Final and finished third at last week’s Regional, with sophomore Ben Smith and senior Glenn Piot also back from last season’s lineup and finishing among the Regional top 25. Senior Will Coffman carded a 78 to finish 12th.
Hartland: The Eagles edged DCC at Oak Pointe to finish second at the Regional after missing Finals weekend a year ago. Bryce Messner made the Finals as an individual last season and finished 13th at last week's Regional atop a lineup of all seniors; Beau Breault led the way with a second-place 72, and all five shot 81 or lower.
Grosse Pointe South: The Blue Devils shot 304 at their Regional at The Orchards in Washington; that score was the third-lowest for all LPD1 Regionals. The top three shooters from last season’s 15th-place Final performance will return this weekend, led by sophomore and Regional medalist John Schoof. Senior David Szymanski also played at last season’s Final and was third at the Regional, and junior David Scupolm finished fifth at the Regional.
Other individuals of note: Only four of last season’s top 10 are back this weekend, but among them are two of five who tied for first after 36 holes and went on to a playoff. Midland Dow senior Ben Roeder won that tie-breaker in three holes and is back as a favorite after finishing second at the Currie Golf Course Regional to Midland sophomore Top Kamnark. Rockford senior Joel Pietilla also played in that 2014 playoff, and he took fifth at his Regional at Grand Haven Golf Course – where Battle Creek Lakeview junior Andrew Walker, tied for ninth at last season’s Final, emerged as Regional champ with a 71. Junior Daniel Settecerri led Bloomfield Hills to the team title at Oak Pointe with a first-place 70, and senior Donnie Trosper helped Canton advance with a third-place finish at Dearborn Country Club by carding a first-place 72.
DIVISION 2 at Forest Akers East, Michigan State University
Top ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 2. DeWitt, 3. East Lansing.
Cranbrook Kingswood: The Cranes claimed their second championship in three seasons in 2014 and won their Regional by 14 strokes featuring three of their top four players from last season’s Final. Senior Dylan Deogun was first at the Regional with a 70 and sophomore Devin Deogun was third with a 75, while senior Mason Schultz carded a 79 to finish eighth as all five players placed among the top 19. Dylan Deogun finished third at last season’s Final, and Devin missed the top 10 by only three strokes as a freshman.
DeWitt: The Panthers won a Regional at Binder Park in Battle Creek that featured three teams ranked among the top six in Division 2. DeWitt shot the low Regional score for all of Division 2, 303, with freshman Joey Croley finishing first individually at 72 and senior teammate Mike Coscarelli coming in second at 73. Coscarelli, senior Owen Beyer and senior Geoffry Croley all are back from the team that finished seventh at last season’s Final, where Geoffry Croley also tied for ninth individually and Beyer missed the top 10 by a stroke.
East Lansing: The Trojans finished runner-up to DeWitt at Binder Park at 319 with senior Joe Croom and sophomore Scott Campbell tying for ninth, each shooting 78. East Lansing also finished just behind the Panthers at last season’s Final, taking eighth, but with four players they’ll return this weekend: Croom, junior Ian Carroll, senior Logan Wilcox and senior Paul Gagnier. Croom placed seventh individually in 2014.
Other individuals of note: Hamilton senior Nick Carlson opened his high school career with an MHSAA individual title in 2012 and will try to end with the same after finishing runner-up both of the last two seasons. Ada Forest Hills Eastern junior Zach Robbins was one of three who tied for fourth at last season’s Final, and like Carlson, won his Regional last week. Mason senior Tristan Brunst was among five who tied for ninth place in 2014, and he returns as an individual qualifier after finishing third at his Regional. Linden senior Devon Cota won the Regional at Jackson’s Calderone Farms with a 75.
DIVISION 3 at Forest Akers West, Michigan State University
Top ranked: 1. Lansing Catholic, 2. Grosse Ile, 3. Jackson Lumen Christi.
Lansing Catholic: The Cougars are looking to win their third straight LP Division 3 title with four of their top five back from last season’s Final. Senior Patrick Gillespie tied for fourth individually in 2014 and senior Niko Voutsaras was tied for fifth after the first round. They finished third and fifth, respectively, last week as Lansing Catholic as a team won the Regional at The Sawmill in Saginaw by 30 strokes at 303. Junior Owen Rush (fifth at Regional) and senior Adam Elias (10th) also started last season; Elias and Voutsaras also were among the starting five on the 2013 championship team.
Grosse Ile: After tying for 11th last season, the Red Devils are expected to make a big jump led by last season’s top Finals shooters Nick Bonamici and Adam Kopp. Grosse Ile finished second at its Regional at Grande Golf Club in Jackson, but only six strokes back of Jackson Lumen Christi. Kopp finished third individually at 74, and Bonamici was tied for seventh at 79. Senior Matt Simone also played a round at last season’s Final, and he was 14th at the Regional.
Jackson Lumen Christi: The Titans finished runners-up to Lansing Catholic the last two seasons after winning four straight titles from 2009-12, and should be in the mix again after winning the Regional at Grande Golf Club with four players from last season’s Final. Seniors Henry Hitt and Tyler Moser were the team’s top scorers at the 2014 Final – Hitt finishing individual runner-up – and they finished tied for fifth and tied for ninth, respectively, at the Regional. Junior Will Double and sophomore Luke Girodat split the fifth spot at last season’s Final, and they too made the top 10 at last week’s Regional, Girodat tying for seventh and Double tying for ninth as well.
Other individuals of note: Five of last season’s top 10 are back this weekend, including four of the top five. Joining Hitt and Gillespie from that group are Macomb Lutheran North junior Scott Sparks, who won last season’s individual championship by seven strokes, and junior Rhet Schrauben, who finished third at the Final. Both were Regional champs last week. Ludington junior Chase Lakari tied for ninth last season and helped his team to a Division 3 Regional-best team score of 302. Senior teammate Spence Hackert was Regional medalist at Katke Golf Course with a 71, and Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central senior Andrew Skibski took the Regional at Grande with a 70.
DIVISION 4 at The Meadows, Grand Valley State University
Top ranked: 1. White Pigeon, 2. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, 3. North Muskegon.
White Pigeon: The Chiefs are a good pick to repeat as champions with nearly the same lineup as that which won by nine strokes a year ago. White Pigeon won its Regional at Klinger Lake in Sturgis by 11 strokes over No. 4-ranked Kalamazoo Hackett. Sophomore Jorden Olsen finished runner-up at his Regional with a 76, falling in a playoff, and senior Riley Olsen was third at the Regional and tied for sixth at the 2014 Final. Seniors Andrew Mann, Christian Ryall-Shoup and Jack Tippman all also played in last season’s Final, Mann and Ryall-Shoup both rounds and Tippman one of two. Mann tied for eighth among individuals.
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart: The Irish shot 336 at The Emerald in St. Johns to edge two teams including North Muskegon by only three strokes to win the Regional. Sacred Heart is expected to take a big jump from last season’s 10th place at the Final as it pursues its first MHSAA championship in the sport since 1985. Four starters, all juniors, are back from that team: Ayush Mohan was third at the Regional, Jake Starry was seventh, and Sam Kindermann and Casey Ervin also bring Finals experience.
North Muskegon: The Norsemen finished only 11 strokes back in 2014 and return three of their top five led by junior Will Mierz, who tied for 10th individually last season. Sophomore Connor McEvoy and senior Mitch Edick also played on last year’s fourth-place finisher, and all five players finished among the top 21 at The Emerald.
Other individuals of note: Nine of 12 who finished among the top 10 (with ties) will play this weekend, led by reigning champion Joel Sneed of Leland, runner-up Sam Wagner of Pentwater, third-place Noah Schneider of Jackson Christian and fourth-place Devin Capron of Suttons Bay. Sneed, a senior, won a loaded Regional at Mistwood in Maple City, shooting 72 while East Jordan sophomore Logan Smith was second at 75, Mesick junior Alex Stanton (tied for 10th at 2014 Final) was third at 78 and Capron – also a senior – was fifth at 80 behind senior teammate Lars Thornton. Wagner, a senior, won the Regional at The Emerald, and Schneider, a junior, won the Regional at Polo Fields in Ypsilanti ahead of Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett senior Stephen Campau (tied for eighth at 2014 Final). Clarkston Everest Collegiate junior Tyler Rozwadowski could be among those who break into the mix; he won the Regional at Westwynd in Oakland Township with a 76. So too could Kalamazoo Christian freshman Colin Sikkenga, who won the playoff over White Pigeon's Olsen.
NOTE: West Bloomfield Frankel Jewish Academy will play its Division 4 rounds Wednesday and Friday.
PHOTO: Leland’s Joel Sneed watches a shot during last season’s run to the Lower Peninsula Division 4 individual championship. Sneed has signed with the University of Nebraska.
Preview: While 1 New Champ Guaranteed, Field Filled with Familiar Contenders
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 8, 2023
At least one new team champion will be celebrated at this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Boys Golf Finals, while three teams from the Detroit Catholic League will be seeking repeats although they will be met by several more contenders when play begins Friday.
The individual races also have familiar favorites with plenty of valuable Finals experience. Runners-up from all four divisions will be playing to take the final step this weekend, including both who tied for second in Division 1 a year ago.
Play begins both Friday and Saturday at 9 a.m. See below for more on a number of teams and individuals who could be in contention, and check out the MHSAA.com Boys Golf page for full lineups and more. (Rankings are via iWanamaker at the end of the regular season.)
Division 1 at The Meadows of Grand Valley State
Top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Skyline, 2. Brighton, 3. Traverse City Central.
Skyline won the championship in 2021 and was runner-up last season to Detroit Catholic Central, only two strokes back and as the only team to clear 300 strokes both rounds. Brighton is seeking its first championship ever and first top-two finish since 1967, and Traverse City Central is pursuing what would be its first championship since 1996, before Traverse City High split into two schools. Nine teams broke 310 across the six Regionals last week, with DCC’s 288 at Salem Hills in Northville easily the lowest score.
Ann Arbor Skyline: The Eagles shot a 301 to win the Regional at Pine View in Ypsilanti by 34 strokes, led by three golfers who were part of last season’s runner-up Finals finish – junior Vibhav Alokam and seniors Andrew Slade and Hank Roebuck – as all five Skyline golfers finished among the individual top five and ties for the fifth spot. Alokam was the Regional champ with a 71 after tying for sixth at last season’s Final, where Roebuck was just one stroke out of the top 15. Alokam also was the team’s second-lowest scorer at the 2021 Finals win.
Brighton: The Bulldogs have climbed from seventh to third at the Finals over the last two seasons and will return all five golfers this weekend from last year’s run – with three of those five also on the 2021 team. Brighton finished second at Salem Hills to DCC, shooting a 296, with senior Andrew Daily fourth at 69 and senior Winston Lerch tied for seventh at 74. Daily tied for second at last season’s Final.
Traverse City Central: The Trojans have dominated in Northern Michigan this spring and continued during a Regional trip south to Currie West in Midland, where they won by four strokes shooting a 309. Central has improved from tied for ninth to sixth over the last two Finals and will bring four players back this weekend from last season’s contender. Senior Michael Beattie tied for fourth at the Regional with a 75, and senior Mack Shane tied for eighth at 77.
Individuals: Daily and Alokam are joined by East Lansing junior Drew Miller (tied for second) and DCC junior Julian Menser (eighth) among returnees from last year’s Final top 10. Menser won the Salem Hills Regional with a 66 and is the only returnee from last season’s DCC championship lineup. Miller was third at the Currie West Regional, won by Holt senior Zach Johnson. Portage Central senior Ethan Tiller, Rochester Adams junior Peter Roehl and Warren De La Salle sophomore Max Teschendorf also were Regional champions last week, and South Lyon East junior Ryan Kruschka (67) and Northville senior Mason Sokolowski (68) also broke 70 in finishing second and third, respectively, to Menser. Mattawan junior Matthew Novak was second to Tiller at Sunnybrook in Grandville and tied for ninth at last year’s LPD2 Final.
Division 2 at The Fortress in Frankenmuth
Top-ranked: 1. Grand Rapids Christian, 2. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 3. Richland Gull Lake.
Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice has won the last two Division 2 championships and finished runner-up to St. Mary’s at last week’s Regional at Huron Meadows Metropark in Brighton with three members of last year’s championship lineup finishing seventh individually (with ties) or higher. The Warriors shot a 300, but St. Mary’s shot a 293 that was the low for all Division 2 Regionals. Grand Rapids Christian also broke 300, shooting a 296 at Diamond Springs in Hamilton as it pursues its first Finals title since 2013. Vicksburg shot a 299 at Coldwater Golf Course and is pursuing its first top-two finish after tying for 17th a year ago.
Grand Rapids Christian: The Eagles didn’t have a senior in their Regional lineup but placed four among the top five individuals (with ties) including sophomore John Cassiday and junior Maxwell O’Grady, who tied for first. They were part of last season’s fourth-place Finals lineup, and juniors Adam Workman and Dylan Clark also are back among the top five this spring after finishing tied for fifth and tied for 16th, respectively, at last year’s Final.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s: The Eaglets were ninth a year ago with just one senior and four underclassmen, and three of those four are back this weekend. Juniors Cooper Eaton and Ben Carroll led the Regional title charge tying for second individually at Huron Meadows, with sophomores Ethan Mukhtar and Mason Shea placing sixth and tied for seventh, respectively.
Richland Gull Lake: Last season’s runner-up team graduated the individual medalist, but returns the rest of the lineup this weekend after finishing third at Coldwater. Junior Beau Carr is the newcomer but was the team’s low scorer at the Regional as he tied for fourth.
Individuals: Total five of the top 12 (as three players tied for 10th) from last season are back in the field, led by Brother Rice senior Lorenzo Pinili after he tied for second in 2022 and finished second outright in 2021. He won the Huron Meadows Regional individual championship in a tie-breaker hole. Sophomore Leandro Pinili tied for fourth at the Regional and tied for ninth at last year’s Final. Adrian junior Carson Ritz returns after finishing fourth a year ago, as does Gaylord senior Kole Putnam after tying for fifth. Other individual Regional champions last week were Ritz, Grand Rapids Northview sophomore William Pollack, Vicksburg senior Josiah McClelland and Flint Powers Catholic senior Robert Burns. Burns tied for 12th and Pollack for 14th at last season’s Final, and Burns tied for fifth in 2021.
Division 3 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West
Top-ranked: 1. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, 2. Jackson Lumen Christi, 3. Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central will play for its second championship in three seasons after winning in 2021 and finishing runner-up last spring to Ann Arbor Greenhills. The Gryphons are back in the mix after a third-place Regional team finish but individual Regional championship by junior Max Shulman, one of two golfers back from last year’s Finals lineup. Lumen Christi won that Regional, by 15 strokes at Hills of Lenawee in Adrian and with four golfers among the top 10 individual finishers. Fourth-ranked Hanover-Horton was runner-up at the Regional, one of the strongest in the state in any division. Liggett is seeking its first championship since 1982 but coming off a Regional runner-up finish to Lansing Catholic at Hawk Hollow in Bath.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett: The Knights have three golfers back from last year’s top five as the team improved to third at the Final from tied for fourth in 2021. Senior Sean Sullivan and sophomore Charlie Cooksey finished tied for eighth and tied for sixth, respectively, in the individual standings last spring and tied for second at last week’s Regional.
Jackson Lumen Christi: The Titans are coming off a seventh-place Finals finish, and they’ll be returning their entire lineup this weekend. Senior Joshua Baker and sophomore Charlie Saunders led the Regional title run tying for fifth individually. Senior Nash Hanchett was seventh at the Regional and led the team tying for 16th at last year’s Final.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central: The Cougars also were Regional champions, shooting a 317 at The Falls at Barber Creek in Kent City to win by 19 strokes. Junior Will Preston was the medalist at 69, and junior Matthew Sokorai tied for second after they were also the team’s top two scorers at last year’s Final when Preston was second individually and Sokorai was 18th.
Individuals: Six golfers from last year’s top 10 are back; joining Preston, Shulman (tied for sixth), Cooksey and Sullivan are Grand Rapids Covenant Christian junior Michael DeVries (tied for 10th) and Hanover-Horton senior Brady Applegate (also tied for 10th). Joining Preston as Regional champs last week were Olivet senior Dawson Redfield, Shepherd sophomore Christopher Crockett, Lansing Catholic sophomore Hayden Riley, Adrian Madison freshman Cameron Bozyk and Tawas senior Alex Kaems, who won in a playoff.
Division 4 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley
Top-ranked: 1. Clarkston Everest Collegiate, 2. Maple City Glen Lake, 3. Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep.
There will be a new champion as 2022 title winner Lansing Christian is not in this weekend’s field, and Hackett won in both 2021 and 2019, while Everest was the runner-up last season. The Mountaineers last won a Finals championship in 2017 (and actually 2016 as well), while Glen Lake is pursuing its first title as are No. 4 Charlevoix and No. 5 Hillsdale Academy among other contenders.
Clarkston Everest Collegiate: The Mountaineers shot a 293 at Fountains in Clarkston to win their Regional last week by 34 strokes, with the four scorers all finishing tied for seventh or higher individually. Senior Remy Stalcup was the medalist with a 69, followed by sophomore Parker Stalcup in second and sophomore Will Pennanen third, and they were the team’s top three at last season’s Final as well. Remy Stalcup tied for third at last year’s championship tournament, while Parker Stalcup tied for 15th.
Maple City Glen Lake: After finishing fourth in 2021 and third last season, the Lakers should be in the hunt with three golfers back from year’s lineup including senior Blake O’Connor – who was the Finals runner-up last season and tied for ninth as a sophomore. He and sophomore Michael Houtteman tied for second at last week’s Regional at Harbor Point in Harbor Springs.
Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep: The Fighting Irish were fourth a year ago with four freshmen and a junior all playing at least one Finals round, and four of those five golfers helped the team return this weekend with a third-place Regional finish at Clearbrook in Saugatuck – but with the biggest contributor freshman Justin Tyler, who won the individual title.
Individuals: O’Connor and Remy Stalcup are a pretty formidable pair returning from the top three, and they and Houtteman are joined by three more top-10 finishers from a year ago: Saginaw Nouvel sophomore Alex McCarthy (tied for fifth), Hillsdale Academy junior Rykert Frisinger (tied for eighth) and Lansing Christian senior Baylor Brogan (tied for eighth). Frisinger and McCarthy joined Tyler and Stalcup among Regional champions last week, as did Grandville Calvin Christian freshman Will Orme and Charlevoix junior Hudson Vollmer.
PHOTO Ann Arbor Skyline’s Vibhav Alokam tees off during last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final at Katke Golf Course. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)