Preview: Get to Know These Contenders
June 8, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A sense of familiarity surrounds all four of this weekend’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Golf Finals.
In Division 1, Detroit Catholic Central is the reigning champion and again looks incredibly strong, while in Division 3 Lansing Catholic has won three straight and will play to become the 12th team to win four consecutive titles.
The familiarity at Divisions 2 and 4 is more about teams knowing each other well; in Division 2, the top three ranked teams also played in the same Regional last week, while in Division 4 two of the top three hail from the Muskegon area.
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 beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday. Click for a full list of Finals qualifiers and Regional results.
LP Division 1 at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University
Top-ranked: 1. Detroit Catholic Central, 2. Grosse Pointe South, 3. Grand Blanc.
Detroit Catholic Central ran away with last year’s title at Ferris State but might be even more unstoppable this weekend. Another sub-300 performance would seem to put the Shamrocks out front, but there’s a strong field ready to pounce if presented the opportunity; nine other finalists shot 308-316 at their Regionals, and Plymouth put up a 283 at its District at Fox Hills.
Detroit Catholic Central: Three Shamrocks finished among the top eight individually at the 2015 Final as DCC won the team title by 31 strokes, and all three are back – senior Max Palmer (tied for eighth) and juniors James Piot (tied for eighth) and Ben Smith (third). They shot a 283 to win their District at Chemung Hills in Howell and a 295 to win the Regional at Hartland, taking at least three of the top four individual places at both.
Grosse Pointe South: The Blue Devils shot a 290 to win their District at St. Clair Shores Golf Club and a solid 310 to finish second to Warren DeLaSalle at the Regional at The Orchards in Washington Township. Sophomores Evan Theros and Patrick Sullivan tied for third at the Regional and played rounds for last season’s team that finished sixth at the Division 1 Final. Juniors Jon Teddy Schoof and David Scupholm and senior Jon Theros also played in last year’s Final, giving South one of the most veteran lineups this weekend.
Grand Blanc: The Bobcats didn’t even make last season’s Final, but have stormed back and traded shots with No. 6 Midland the last two rounds, finishing second to the Chemics in the District but beating them by five strokes to win their Regional at Boulder Pointe in Oxford. Sophomore Zach Hopkins tied for individual runner-up at the Regional as three players finished among the top nine (with ties). The two players who didn’t break the top 10 were among the top eight (with ties) at the District.
Other individuals of note: Reigning champion Andrew Walker of Battle Creek Lakeview returns to lead a group including six of last season’s top 10 and two of the top three. The Spartans senior won his District at El Dorado in Mason with a 72 and shot the same score to win the Regional at Cedar Springs’ Cedar Chase. Flushing senior Joe Montpas tied with Smith for third last year, only three strokes back, and he won his District at Grand Traverse Resort with a 73 and his Regional at Boulder Pointe with a 69. Northville’s Jimmy Dales was 10th individually in 2015 as only a freshman, and Plymouth junior Jack Boczar made headlines last month with a winning 64 at his District.
LP Division 2 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley
The three top-ranked teams finished the Regional within four strokes of each other at Pohlcat in Mount Pleasant (Forest Hills Eastern at 312, Forest Hills Northern at 314 and St. Johns at 316). But Forest Hills Northern was the only one to play as a team at last year’s Final, although Forest Hills Eastern was runner-up only two seasons ago.
Top-ranked: 1. Ada Forest Hills Eastern, 2. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 3. St. Johns.
Ada Forest Hills Eastern: The Hawks actually had to bounce back to win the Regional after finishing second to Forest Hills Northern at their District at Thornapple Pointe in Grand Rapids. Senior Zach Robbins tied for third at the District and then second at the Regional, where he was joined by sixth-place senior Marc Gerst in the top 10 against a strong field. Both played on the 2014 Finals runner-up team, and Robbins tied for fourth individually that year and sixth last season when he qualified alone.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern: The Huskies finished third last season, nine strokes back of champion DeWitt, and return a number of veterans. Senior Spencer Schab tied for 10th individually in 2015 and has finished among the top 20 at both the District and Regional, with senior Phil Lodzinski standing out most by winning the Regional and finishing second at the District. Seniors Brian McHale and Chase Lebster also both played at last season’s Final, and Lebster was third at the District two weeks ago. Forest Hills Northern is seeking its first Finals title since 1983.
St. Johns: The Redwings are playing for their first championship, and first top-two finish since 1961 – and might have a two-year window with four juniors and a sophomore in the starting lineup. Junior Eric Nunn missed the top 10 at last year’s Final by four strokes playing as an individual qualifier, and he was one of three placing among the top six (plus ties) at the Regional. Junior Zach Rosendale tied for second at the Regional and won his District at Pine River in Alma, where four St. Johns players finished among the top six (with ties).
Other individuals of note: Robbins and Schab are joined by two others who finished among the top 10 a year ago – Otsego junior Tyler Rayman, who tied for fourth, and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood junior Devin Deogun, who also tied for sixth. Deogun shot a 67 at his Regional to finish low among four who broke 70 in all of Division 2. Pontiac Notre Dame junior Jackson Stowe (68), East Lansing senior Ian Carroll (68) and Trojans junior Tony Fuentes (69) were the others.
LP Division 3 at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers East
Top-ranked: 1. Lansing Catholic, 2. Jackson Lumen Christi, 3. Frankenmuth.
Lansing Catholic has won the last three Division 3 championships, after Jackson Lumen Christi won four straight from 2009-12. Lumen Christi also finished runner-up in 2013 and 2014. So it’s easy to understand why those two are the favorites again – although there are a few more that definitely have shown the ability to impact this tournament.
Lansing Catholic: The Cougars’ winning 305 at its Regional at Twin Brooks in Chesaning was 13 strokes lower than any other Regional score in Division 3 and 17 strokes better than a field that included No. 4 Tawas and No. 13 Freeland. Lansing Catholic’s 309 to win the District at Glebrier in Perry beat the field by 42 strokes. Senior Owen Rush was third at the 2015 Final and won last week’s Regional with a 69 and the District with a 72; sophomore Ethan O’Farrell and senior Viani Magaswaran both posted top–seven finishes at both preliminary levels as well, and junior Peter Kramer tied for second at the District.
Jackson Lumen Christi: The Titans finished third last season without putting a player among the individual top 10; only senior Will Double is back from last season’s starting five, and he’s joined by another group of solid players capable of making a move. All five finished among the top six at the District, led by junior and champion Luke Girodat, and Double was runner-up at the Regional as all five tied for 16th or higher.
Frankenmuth: The Eagles went from unranked to contender status after shooting a 318 – the second-lowest of any Division 3 team at Regionals – to win by 14 at Atlas Valley in Grand Blanc. Frankenmuth put two among the top 10 at their District but three among the top four at their Regional – junior Chase Singer was runner-up and senior Sam Struble and junior Daniel Wagner tied for fourth.
Other individuals of note: Only four of last season’s top 10 are back, including Lansing Catholic’s Rush. But that group also includes Macomb Lutheran North senior and individual qualifier Scott Sparks, who won the Division 3 individual title as a sophomore in 2014 before tying for sixth a year ago. Freeland senior Ben Balen also is back after tying for sixth, and Portland senior Rhet Schrauben was fourth last season and third as a sophomore.
LP Division 4 at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers West
Top-ranked: 1. North Muskegon, 2. Kalamazoo Christian, 3. Muskegon Catholic Central.
After finishing only two strokes behind Suttons Bay last season, North Muskegon is top-ranked heading into the weekend and seeking its first championship since 1997. But Muskegon Catholic Central has joined the conversation by finishing only 11 strokes back of North Muskegon at their District and two back at the Regional. Kalamazoo Christian has never won an MHSAA title in this sport and was eighth a year ago among a tightly-packed field, but won its District by 15 and its Regional by 30 over the last two weeks.
North Muskegon: The Norsemen tied for second last season despite its low scorer, now-senior Will Mierz, coming in only ninth. That consistency among the group has continued to pay off with four of last season’s top five back and three of the four finishing tied for seventh or better at the Regional at The Emerald in St. Johns. Junior Brendan Harris was runner-up at the Regional with a 70, while junior Gannon Moss led four among the top eight (with ties) with a third-place 75 at the District at Stonegate in Muskegon.
Kalamazoo Christian: Four of the top five from last season’s eighth-place finisher are back this weekend, including sophomores Colin Sikkenga and John Cramer. Sikkenga tied for seventh at last season’s Final and won the Regional last week at Thornapple Creek with Cramer coming in eighth and seniors Taylor Resh and Jared Wenke placing sixth and seventh, respectively. All five Kalamazoo Christian players finished among the top 13 (with ties) at a District at Milham Park in Kalamazoo against a field that also included No. 7 Kalamazoo Hackett and No. 10 Concord.
Muskegon Catholic Central: Like Frankenmuth in Division 3, MCC also went from unranked to contender with a strong postseason so far. The Crusaders did finish just two strokes back of North Muskegon at the Regional with junior Collin Powers finishing first overall and two others coming in among the top seven, and Powers also took first at the District. He was fifth at the 2015 Final and this time will be one of four current players who were in the lineup as MCC finished ninth as a team.
Other individuals of note: Seven of last season’s top 10 are back, with Jackson Christian senior individual qualifier Noah Schneider the highest returning placer after coming in third and four strokes off the lead. East Jordan junior individual qualifier Logan Smith tied with Powers for fifth last season, with Concord now-senior Jacob Butterfield seventh and Clarkston Everest Collegiate now-senior Tyler Rozwadowski 10th. Schneider and Rozwadowski shot 73s to tie for the third-lowest Regional score in Division 4 last week, behind only Powers’ 68 and Harris’ 70.
NOTE: West Bloomfield Frankel Jewish Academy will play its Division 4 rounds Thursday and Friday.
PHOTO: Lansing Catholic’s Owen Rush watches a shot during the first day of the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final last season; he ended up third overall as the Cougars won their third straight team title. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Preview: Last Year's Second-Best Seeking to Take Final Championship Step
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 8, 2022
The 2021 runners-up very well could be the story of this weekend’s 2022 Lower Peninsula Boys Golf Finals.
Detroit Catholic Central in Division 1, Flint Powers Catholic in Division 2, Big Rapids in Division 3 and Lansing Christian in Division 4 all finished second last season but return among favorites this weekend. Three individual champions from last year moved on, but the runners-up in those divisions are expected to be among the strongest contenders this time as well.
But no one is sleeping on the returning champions. Ann Arbor Skyline entered the postseason top-ranked in Division 1, Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice and Grand Rapids Catholic Central shot the best Regional scores last week in Divisions 2 and 3, respectively, and Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep is a top-five ranked team in Division 4 once again. And the one 2021 individual champion returning this weekend – Clarkston Everest Collegiate’s Remy Stalcup – also shot the Regional low among individuals in all divisions to qualify this time.
See below for more on a number of teams and individuals who could be in contention, and check out the MHSAA Website for full lineups and more. (Rankings are via iWanamaker at the end of the regular season.)
Division 1 at Ferris State’s Katke Golf Course
Top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Skyline, 2. Muskegon Mona Shores, 3. Traverse City Central
Nine teams shot Regional scores of 310 or lower, which could indicate a strong, close competition this weekend. No. 5 Detroit Catholic Central (289) and No. 7 Northville (298) led the way, finishing first and second, respectively, at Salem Hills in Northville. They were followed by No. 6 Brighton at Salem Hills, with No. 4 Novi missing qualification on a tie-break. Ann Arbor Skyline is coming off its first Finals championship and entered the postseason ranked No. 1 again. Mona Shores didn’t qualify as a team last season but has returned seeking its first team title since 2005, and a Traverse City Central championship would be that program’s first since 1996 and before Traverse City West opened.
Ann Arbor Skyline: The Eagles return three of their top five from last year, and the top four at this season’s Regional were a sophomore and three juniors. That sophomore, Ieuan Jones, tied for second individually at last season’s Finals and was the individual Regional champ last week at Cascades in Jackson. Skyline shot 300 overall to win the Regional team title by 22 strokes, with junior Mitchell Strickland individual runner-up and junior Hank Roebuck seventh.
Detroit Catholic Central: The Shamrocks’ winning Regional score included performances from the first and second-place (tied) individuals, senior Peter Stassinopoulos and sophomore Julian Menser, respectively. All five golfers placed among the top 14 individuals, with senior Liam Casey next in 10th. DCC was the Finals runner-up last season and brings back four of its top six players from that team this weekend.
Muskegon Mona Shores: The Sailors shot a 309 to finish runner-up by a stroke to No. 8 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern at last week’s Regional at Stonegate in Muskegon. But Mona was led by junior Nicholas Taylor, who tied for first individually (but finished second after a tie-breaker) and was that individual Finals qualifier last year. Senior Chase Knowlton also was a top-10 Regional finisher, placing seventh.
Other individuals of note: Jones is joined by only two others from last season’s Finals top 10 – Forest Hills Northern senior Jack Zubkus, who also tied for second, and Rochester Adams sophomore Peter Roehl, who tied for sixth. Stassinopoulos (69), Lake Orion freshman Connor Fox (69) and Troy senior Benjamin Wu (69) broke 70 with their Regional rounds last week. Fox defeated Wu in a tie-breaker and Portage Central junior Ethan Tiller defeated Shores’ Taylor in theirs, and Fox and Tiller with Stassinopoulos and Jones were joined among Regional champions by Grosse Pointe North senior Niko Karoutsos and Oxford senior Chase Maier.
Division 2 at The Meadows at Grand Valley State
Top-ranked: 1. South Lyon East, 2. Richland Gull Lake, 3. Chelsea
Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice won last season’s championship by 28 strokes and was the only Division 2 team last week to break 300 at Regionals, shooting a 289. Last season’s Finals runner-up, Flint Powers Catholic, posted the second-lowest Regional score last week at 303. Powers last won a Finals in 2018. South Lyon East, Gull Lake and Chelsea all are seeking first Finals championships, with Chelsea coming in fifth and Gull Lake ninth last spring.
Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice: Last year’s Warriors were paced by three top-seven individual Finals finishers, Two are back this weekend and were part of all five golfers placing among the top eight at the Regional at Huron Meadows in Brighton. Junior Lorenzo Pinili – second at last year’s Final – won last week’s Regional, and senior Matt Baer – who tied for seventh at that Final – finished fourth at the Regional. They were joined at the Regional by freshman Leandro Pinili tied for second, junior Marcus Lee in fifth and senior Kyle Gruley tied for eighth. Brother Rice entered the postseason ranked No. 14 and was followed at the Regional by No. 7 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.
Flint Powers Catholic: The No. 4 Chargers edged No. 13 DeWitt by four strokes at the Regional at The Emerald at St. Johns, with junior Robert Burns the medalist and senior Luke Cramer tied for sixth. Burns tied for fifth at last year’s Final. He, Cramer, junior Kyle Barbour and senior Chris Jones were the top four scorers from last season’s runner-up team finish.
South Lyon East: The Cougars will travel to the Finals as a team after sending an individual last year. East finished second at the Lakes of Taylor Regional to Chelsea, two strokes back, but with all five golfers among the top 14 individual finishers. That individual Finals qualifier from 2021, now-sophomore Ryan Kruschka, finished third at the Regional last week, with freshman Kameron Knox tied for fourth and senior Chase Temple ninth.
Other individuals of note: Although the 2021 champion graduated, six of the top 10 finishers from last season’s Final are back led by Lorenzo Pinili and Spring Lake senior Evan McDermott (third). They, Burns and Baer are joined by Grand Rapids Northview senior Colin Beckett (tied for seventh) and Williamston senior Sam Havey (tied for ninth). Pinili (69), Burns (69) and McDermott (69) all broke 70 at their Regionals last week and were joined as Regional champions by Dearborn Divine Child senior Adam Hammoud, Richland Gull Lake senior Bryce Wheeler and Hamilton junior Eli Timmerman, who defeated Hudsonville Unity Christian sophomore Colin Nieuwenhuis in a tie-breaker.
Division 3 at The Fortress in Frankenmuth
Top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Greenhills, 2. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, 3. Traverse City St. Francis
Six teams have won the Division 3 championship over the last six seasons, with the lone constant Big Rapids as the runner-up the last four seasons (not counting COVID-canceled 2020). Grand Rapids Catholic Central won last year’s title by 17 strokes and was ranked No. 6 at the start of this postseason, while Big Rapids entered the postseason outside the top 15 but has advanced to this weekend. GRCC had the lowest Division 3 Regional score last week at 308, with Greenhills next at 319.
Ann Arbor Greenhills: Seniors Beau Brewer and Cale Piedmonte-Lang played in last season’s Final as individual qualifiers and are back among leaders of this year’s team. The Gryphons shot a 319 at the Regional at Grosse Ile’s West Shore to edge No. 7 Grosse Ile by two strokes. Brewer was the medalist, sophomore Max Shulman was third and Piedmonte-Lang tied four fourth.
Big Rapids: Despite not making the top 15 at the end of the regular season, Big Rapids has earned this conversation – and especially after winning its Regional at Houghton Lake’s Quest two strokes ahead of St. Francis and 11 ahead of No. 13 Boyne City. Now-senior Luke Welch finished 11th at last year’s Final and was third at last week’s Regional, with junior Kyle Schroeder and sophomore Preston Younge tied for eighth at Quest.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central: The Cougars won last year’s Final without a top-10 individual but with four between 12th and 25th – and four players who golfed at least one round are set to be back this weekend. GRCC won the Regional last week at Montague’s Old Channel Trail by 18 strokes, with sophomore Will Preston the medalist, senior Luke Preston tied for third, sophomore Matthew Sokorai fifth and senior John Harmon tied for seventh.
Other individuals of note: Grosse Ile senior Anthony Naso was Regional runner-up to Greenhills’ Brewer last week, and tied for second at last year’s Final. The only other returnees from last season’s top 10 are Saginaw Swan Valley junior Ashton DiBlasi, who tied for fifth, and Belding senior Mason Anderson, who tied for eighth. Joining Will Preston and Brewer among Regional champs were Millington freshman Bryce Martin, Bath senior Ethan Swenson, Traverse City St. Francis senior Tommy Puetz and Quincy junior Sam Sawyer. Puetz defeated Boyne City senior Kolton Stadt in a tie-breaker for that medalist honor.
Division 4 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West
Top-ranked: 1. Clarkston Everest Collegiate, 2. Lansing Christian, 3. Maple City Glen Lake
Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep has won the last two Division 4 titles (in 2021 and 2019), last season by six strokes, and entered this postseason ranked No. 5 despite graduating four of last season’s top five golfers. Everest Collegiate is another regular with titles in 2016 and 2017 and the runner-up finish in 2018. The Mountaineers had the lowest Regional score in the division last week at 306, followed by Lansing Christian at 314 and Glen Lake at 323. Lansing Christian and Glen Lake are playing for their first title.
Clarkston Everest Collegiate: Although Everest missed the Finals as a team last season, Remy Stalcup was the individual champion by seven strokes, and he shot the lowest Regional score in any division last week – a 65 at Fountains in Clarkston to lead the Mountaineers to a 40-stroke team victory. Stalcup was joined in the top 10 at the Regional by freshman Parker Stalcup (fourth), senior Johnny Nedwick (tied for sixth) and freshman Will Pennanen (10th).
Lansing Christian: The Pilgrims had a similarly-dominating Regional performance at Calderone in Jackson, finishing 19 strokes ahead of a field that included No. 10 Hillsdale Academy and No. 15 Hudson. All five golfers finished among the top 15 individuals, and the four scorers were among the top six – senior medalist Davis Garrett, junior Baylor Brogan tied for second, senior William Combs in fifth and senior Caden Kinnas in sixth. Senior Isaac Haley was that 15th-place finisher, and those five were the same who took the Pilgrims to a team runner-up Finals finish in 2021. Garrett was third individually and Combs eighth at last season’s Final.
Maple City Glen Lake: The Lakers cut 21 strokes from their first to second rounds at last year’s Final to finish fourth, and two golfers from that lineup return with a talented freshman added to the mix. Now-junior Blake O’Connor tied for ninth at that Final and was second at last week’s Regional at Antrim Hills in Charlevoix as all five Glen Lake golfers placed seventh or higher. Freshman Michael Houtteman was the medalist, senior Jackson Zywicki was fifth, and junior Garrett Moss and senior Billy Rosa tied for seventh. As a team, Glen Lake finished 16 strokes ahead of runner-up and No. 6-ranked Charlevoix.
Other individuals of note: As noted above, Remy Stalcup, Garrett, Combs and O’Connor are back from last season’s top 10, joined by Saginaw Nouvel Catholic senior Luke LeBourdais (tied for fourth) and Royal Oak Shrine Catholic senior Jeffrey Andrus (tied for ninth). Joining Stalcup, Garrett and Houtteman as Regional champs were LeBourdais, Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian freshman Davis Formsma and Grandville Calvin Christian senior Matthew Turcotte. Andrus shot a 72 to finish Regional runner-up to Stalcup.