Preview: Runners-Up in Champion Form
June 7, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This could be a weekend of coincidence as all four 2017 Lower Peninsula Boys Golf Finals runners-up are in position to take the most challenging last step and become MHSAA champions.
Grosse Pointe South in Division 1 and Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian in Division 4 entered the postseason ranked No. 1 in their respective divisions after coming in second a year ago – and both are seeking their first MHSAA Finals title in this sport. Flint Powers Catholic in Division 2 and Big Rapids in Division 3 entered Regional week ranked No. 2 in their respective divisions – also as runners-up in 2017 looking to bring home the championship trophy this time.
Below are a handful of possible 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
Reigning champion: Detroit Catholic Central.
2017 runner-up: Grosse Pointe South.
Top-ranked: 1. Grosse Pointe South, 2. Clarkston, 3. Birmingham Seaholm.
Detroit Catholic Central has won the last three LPD1 championships, and Grosse Pointe South has finished second both of the last two seasons. Twelve of 18 Finals qualifiers shot 315 or lower at their Regionals, which could signal this being a far tighter race than last season when the Shamrocks won by 16 and the Blue Devils cleared third place by another 13 strokes.
Grosse Pointe South: The Blue Devils shot a 300 to win their Regional at The Orchards in Washington ahead of No. 5 Birmingham Brother Rice and No. 3 Seaholm. The top four scorers all shot 78 or better to finish 10th or higher individually, led by runner-up Patrick Sullivan and third-place Coalter Smith. They are two of four back from last season’s Finals lineup, and Smith came in third individually at last year’s championship event.
Hartland: The Eagles entered last week ranked No. 9, but get a mention here after winning a Regional at Dunham Hills in Hartland with a 303, ahead of No. 10 Northville, No. 7 DCC and No. 2 Clarkston. Hartland finished ninth last season, and three of those starters are back this weekend including senior Mitchell Cotten. He tied for the team’s lowest score at the 2017 Finals and finished second overall at last week’s Regional.
Rockford: The Rams are seeking their first MHSAA championship in this sport, but finished fifth last season and look like a contender after shooting 310 to win their Regional at Thornapple Pointe in Grand Rapids by 21 strokes. Junior Kevin Healy was the individual runner-up at 74 and tied for eighth at the 2017 Final. Sophomore Nathan Barton and freshman Oliver Haberle also finished among the top 10 at the Regional, and Barton and senior Daniel Froumis were part of the lineup during last season’s run.
Other individuals of note: Ann Arbor Skyline sophomore Cam Cowland and Birmingham Seaholm senior Henry Scavone were among others who tied for eighth at last year’s Final. Scavone was 14th at his Regional last week but should be in form while leading one of the team contenders, and Cowland was medalist at the Regional at Polo Fields in Ann Arbor in leading his team to the championship. Brother Rice senior Brendan O’Rouke shot 68 to win at the Orchards, while New Baltimore Anchor Bay seniors Tory Saunby and Michael Romanoski both shot 68 to tie for first in leading their team to the title at Oakland’s Twin Lakes. Northville senior Jimmy Dales, Midland Dow sophomore Anthony Zeitler and Portage Central sophomore Will Anderson also won Regionals, Anderson shooting a 66 at Thornapple Pointe.
LP Division 2 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley
Reigning champion: St. Johns.
2017 runner-up: Flint Powers Catholic.
Top-ranked: 1. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 2. Flint Powers Catholic, 3. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood.
St. Johns’ two-year reign will come to end; the Redwings didn’t qualify this spring after graduating most of their lineup in 2017. Powers finished 24 strokes back a year ago but also 15 strokes ahead of the rest of the field and could be in line for its first title since 2001. Top-ranked Forest Hills Northern is playing for its first since 1983, but finished only second at its Regional to No. 4 Gaylord. Seven teams shot 312 or better at Regionals, led by No. 8 East Grand Rapids at 298.
Flint Powers Catholic: The Chargers won their Regional at Hawk Hollow in East Lansing with a 303, two strokes better than No. 6 DeWitt. Three golfers are back from last season’s runner-up run, led by senior Zach Hopkins – he tied for 10th at last year’s Final and for third with sophomore teammate Grant Tucker at last week’s Regional. Powers’ top four all broke 80 at Hawk Hollow.
Gaylord: The Blue Devils are aiming for their first top-two Finals finish after coming in 11th last season. They shot a 311 to win the Regional at Cedar Chase in Cedar Springs by seven over Forest Hills Northern, with junior Brendon Gouin the individual medalist at 72. Gaylord’s top four finished among the top nine individuals, and all four were part of last season’s lineup as well.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern: Despite the runner-up Regional finish, it’s tough to not see the Huskies among the favorites with five of their top six back from last season’s eighth-place (tied) Finals finish. Three players finished among the top six placers, with ties, at the Regional led by fourth-place junior Noah Kolar. Forest Hills Northern has been ranked No. 1 since the end of April.
Other individuals of note: Ada Forest Hills Eastern junior Brad Smithson tied for third at last year’s Final and leads another team that easily could be in contention – he finished third individually at Cedar Chase as Forest Hills Eastern followed Powers and FHN. Spring Lake junior Nick Krueger tied for fifth in 2017 and was runner-up to Gouin at the same loaded Regional last week. Allendale senior Asher Meekof just missed the top 10 individuals at last year’s Final and will return as a Regional champion. Marshall sophomore Matt Flynn also was a Regional champ; his sophomore teammate Hayden Chapman tied for 10th a year ago at the Final. Mason junior Alex Jordan, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep senior Jack Williams and Trenton senior Brent Trela also were Regional champions last week.
LP Division 3 at Forest Akers West at Michigan State University
Reigning champion: Jackson Lumen Christi.
2017 runner-up: Big Rapids.
Top-ranked: 1. Grosse Ile, 2. Big Rapids. 3. Schoolcraft.
Jackson Lumen Christi and Lansing Catholic have won eight of the last nine championships in this division. But Grosse Ile is favored to win its first since 2003, and Big Rapids is seeking its first since 2008 after finishing runner-up and eight strokes back a year ago.
Big Rapids: Four of the five starters from last season’s runner-up team will be back this weekend, led by junior Pierce Morrissey. He tied for fifth at last year’s Final and was the medalist last week at Willow Wood in Portland as the Cardinals edged No. 8 Grand Rapids West Catholic by a stroke for the team title. Two others finished among the top seven individually as Big Rapids shot a 314.
Grosse Ile: The Red Devils have held down the top spot in the state poll since late April, coming off a fourth-place finish in Division 2 a year ago. Three golfers are back from the six that played at least a round at last year’s Final, and senior Joey Test was the medalist last week at Hantz Golf Club in Tecumseh as Grosse Ile won the team Regional title.
Hanover-Horton: The No. 4 Comets get the slight nod ahead of Schoolcraft after winning their Regional ahead of reigning champ and current No. 9 Jackson Lumen Christi last week. Hanover-Horton shot a 313 at Hunters Ridge in Howell to clear the Titans by 11 strokes, led by sophomore and individual runner-up Jack Brockie. Senior Garret Spink tied for fourth at the Regional and tied for fifth at last year’s Final as the Comets finished fifth as a team in 2017.
Other individuals of note: In addition to Spink and Morrissey, four others are back from last year’s top 10. Tawas senior Daniel Shattuck was runner-up last spring after advancing to a playoff for the top spot. Portland sophomore Zach Pier is back after tying for third, while Houghton Lake senior Brock Decker also tied for fifth and Grand Rapids West Catholic senior Anderson Ryan was eighth. Ludington senior Evan McKinley finished a stroke ahead of Decker last week at Grandview Country Club in Kalkaska for a Regional title, while Morrissey won by a stroke over Pier. Jonesville senior Grant Baker, Napoleon freshman Evan Brzyski and St. Louis junior Grant Mills also won Regional titles.
LP Division 4 at Forest Akers East at Michigan State University
Reigning champion: Clarkston Everest Collegiate.
2017 runner-up: Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian.
Top-ranked: 1. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, 2. Suttons Bay, 3. Clarkston Everest Collegiate.
Clarkston Everest Collegiate will seek to win its third straight Division 4 championship, but NorthPointe was last year’s runner-up 11 strokes back – and 13 ahead of the rest of the field. Suttons Bay didn’t make the field as a team last year but has one of best individuals on the card. Those three teams were the only three to clear 330 at last week’s Regionals.
Clarkston Everest College: Four of five starters are back from last year’s championship team, and three were on the 2016 winner as well. Junior Mitch Lowney was the runner-up at the 2017 Final and also won last week’s Regional at Whitmore Lake Golf Links as his team cleared the field by 24 strokes. Junior Mia Korns was the one player not in last year’s starting lineup, but she finished third at last week’s Regional and was seventh at the 2016 Division 4 Girls Final.
Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian: All five golfers are back from last season’s runner-up showing, when senior Logan Holtkamp came in sixth individually. NorthPointe won the Regional last week at Muskegon Country Club by 32 strokes with Holtkamp the medalist, junior Erik Fahlen and senior Hayden VanErmen tying for second and senior Ben Farrell coming in fourth.
Suttons Bay: The Norsemen won Division 4 as recently as 2015, and although they didn’t play the Final as a team last year senior Thomas Hursey tied for eighth as an individual qualifier. Suttons Bay won the Regional at Grand Traverse Resort last week by 21 strokes with Hursey finishing first and senior Parker LaPointe tying for second.
Other individuals of note: The last two individual champions are back this weekend, and they are among eight of last year’s top 10 returning to the field. Clinton junior Austin Fauser won last year’s Final and last week’s Regional at Concord Hills. Lansing Christian senior Parker Jamieson was the 2016 Final champion, tied for eighth last season and finished second to Fauser last week. Kalamazoo Christian senior Colin Sikkenga, Harbor Springs senior Cole Ketterer and Kalamazoo Hackett sophomore Will Verduzco came in third-fifth, respectively, at last season’s Final, and Sikkenga was a Regional champion last week. Bad Axe junior Colby Meeks also is coming off a Regional title.
PHOTO: St. Louis’ Grant Mills watches a shot during his Division 3 Regional title run last week at Pine River Country Club. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Top-Placing Pair Paces Grand Rapids Catholic Central Team Win
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
June 10, 2023
EAST LANSING — Teams that have been chasing Grand Rapids Catholic Central the past three years in the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Boys Golf Tournament got some bad news in Saturday's Final:
The Cougars won their second crown in three years, easily besting second-place Lansing Catholic by 35 strokes. GRCC shot 306 to take a 17-stroke lead Friday, and cruised to the title with a 308 on Saturday at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West.
And they may not be done dominating just yet.
The Cougars won the LPD3 title in 2021 and finished second last year, which gave the fuel for this season.
"They had a mission, and they had a goal," GRCC coach Kim Napieralski said. "They accomplished it."
They did so in part due to a team meeting after Friday's strong showing.
"We had a comfortable lead (Friday), but this morning the conversation during our team meeting was we still needed to go out and play well," Napieralski said. "We needed to finish strong, and luckily we got the job done."
That they did. Co-captain Matthew Sokorai earned the medalist honor with a 141, and co-captain Will Preston was second at 146.
"It feels great, obviously," Sokorai said of being on a team champion for the second time in three years. "But you've got to think about how you got there. Not just the ending, but there's a lot of hard work involved. It wasn't just one person. It was a whole team that played well."
More news that might keep opponents awake for another year: Both Sokorai and Preston are juniors, and the Cougars lose only one senior from this year's champion.
Still, Preston said he didn't think about winning this year's title until the latter part of the second round Saturday.
span>"We knew we were in a good spot (Saturday morning), but it wasn't until late in the round today that we really had it." he said. "When you count four scores, anything can happen."
<Lansing Catholic, also nicknamed the Cougars, was the only other team to shoot below 320 on the weekend, recording a 318 on Saturday to finish at 649. Saginaw Swan Valley was third at 652.
Lansing Catholic coach Matt Golzynski was pleased with his team's finish.
"We got off to a slow start (Friday) and it snowballed," Golzynski said. "We absolutely finished on an up note. I'm extremely proud of the work they put in this year and the job they did. It's been a great experience for us."
GRCC's precision on the course is matched by the team's close bond.
"There's no team in the state that's closer than us," Sokorai said. "We stay in hotels, we go out to eat, we do everything together. I feel like that's a huge part."
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Matthew Sokorai, left, receives his individual championship medal Saturday at Forest Akers West. (Middle) Teammate Will Preston putts; he finished second individually. (Below) Lansing Catholic’s Lansing Catholic’s Tomas Rampe tees off during the second round. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)