Redwings Bring Longtime Coach 1st Title
June 11, 2016
By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
BATTLE CREEK – St. Johns made its longtime boys golf coach Paul Sternburgh look like a prophet Saturday afternoon.
Sternburgh, in his 36th season coaching the Redwings, had said his team would be as good as its third through fifth players played in the MHSAA Division 2 boys golf tournament at Bedford Valley Golf Course.
With solid play from all five, St. Johns broke 300 both Friday and Saturday and totaled 597 (298-299) to edge runner-up East Lansing (601) and third-place DeWitt (611). The Redwings came into the postseason ranked No. 3 in LP Division 2, and finished third at the Regional to No. 1 Ada Forest Hills Eastern and No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central – which tied for fourth this weekend.
It is the first MHSAA Finals championship in boys golf for St. Johns, which should have everybody back next year as it played four juniors and a sophomore this weekend.
“If you look at the progression we made, I would have said getting here was our goal this year, and then maybe make the top five,” Sternburgh said. “Our top two guys did what they do. I told the guys that what our third, fourth and fifth guys do will make or break our season. They made it for sure.”
Led by Nate Brown, the team’s No. 5 player, those three combined for six rounds of 82 or better, including three that broke 80.
“Brown was just phenomenal,” Sternburgh said. “He shot 79-76, and he’s averaging about 83. He just stayed the course and kept it in play. He came through. Even our No. 4 guy shot 81-82, and his score didn’t count. That’s pretty good when you throw those scores out.”
Brown, a junior, had three birdies Saturday in his 2-over 76.
“I started out rough, but halfway through I just sort of settled in and it all went from there,” Brown said. “On the sixth hole – a par 3 – I hit my tee shot onto the front of the green, and I sank a 40-footer for a birdie, and after that, I think I was even through the next 12 holes.
“I knew we had a chance to win the state title, but it didn’t really sink in until we had the lead on the second day. What I did was unexpected, but I knew what I was capable of; I just hadn’t shown it all year.”
Brown said the key to his success was consistency.
“I probably hit 12 fairways with my driver both days,” he said. “My driver really came in handy, and I made a lot of putts. I had a good feeling coming into this weekend. We all did. I’m living the dream right now.”
The top two were solid as usual. Eric Nunn led the team with 69-70 for a 5-under 139 total, and Zach Rosendale added 71-73 for an even-par 144 total. Nunn lost in a playoff for the individual title with Devin Deogun of Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood.
Nunn had a great finish that landed him in a playoff for the individual title.
“I saw him on the course at one point, and he was two down,” Sternburgh said. “Then he said, ‘I’m going to tie this guy.’ After he made the turn, he told me, ‘Coach, I just flipped this guy. I’m two up.’ Then he birdied the last two holes.”
The playoff began on the par-5, 508-yard 16th hole. After a subpar tee shot, Nunn landed his third shot on the fringe of the green, while Deogun was in a bunker just short of the green with his second shot.
“My bunker game is pretty good, so I looked at it like just any other bunker shot,” Deogun said. “I was in the same bunker earlier, so I felt like I had some recollection of what I could do. I was a little bit farther in the bunker, but it was still a similar shot.”
Deogun, who shot 69-70 for a 5-under 139 total, landed his bunker shot about 3 feet from the pin. Nunn three-putted from the fringe for bogey, and Deogun sank his birdie putt for the championship.
“When he missed, I felt I could have just tapped it in there,” said Deogun, a junior who has committed to Michigan State University. “My length is really beneficial for me. I can take advantage of a lot of short par 4s and par 5s, and I’ve worked on my short game a lot with my coach, and it paid off.”
For Nunn, the disappointment of losing in the playoff did nothing to blemish his joy in winning the team title. He had the biggest smile of everyone as they gathered to accept the championship trophy.
“I was really happy after we won, and then I said I have more work to do,” he said. “Unfortunately I lost, but congrats to Devin, great playing. It is what it is. I didn’t hit the best shot off the tee, and I didn’t hit the best shot out of the bunker, but I’m still really happy.
“It feels great. I’m so proud of our guys. We’ve worked really hard for this. It’s been a long time coming for Coach Sternburgh, he’s been in it for 36 years, and we’re glad we finally got him one.”
Rosendale, who made the MHSAA Finals as an individual two years ago, is half of the solid one-two punch at the top of the St. Johns lineup. Nunn competed last year as an individual, and the two team leaders shared some advice with their teammates prior to the tournament.
“We’ve been here, so we know how to handle the pressure, and we just told them to drink water and stay hydrated, take deep breaths and just treat this like any other tournament,” Rosendale said. “Our five man came up clutch.”
Juniors Brown and Jack Bouck and sophomore Zeke Ely had never played in the MHSAA Finals prior to this year. It appears the advice was taken.
“We were a little nervous coming in, so we met on the first day and said there is nothing to be nervous about,” Bouck said. “If we played our game, our scores would show it, and after the first tee, I just started playing golf, and we got it done.”
The lack of big-tournament experience for the third through fifth players was a concern to Sternburgh.
“Eric and Zach had played a lot of high-level tournaments, so I wasn’t concerned about him,” he said. “Nate almost couldn’t talk, he was so nervous. I was nursing the last few guys along. You always have to be part counselor. If they made a bad shot, they’re pouting, and you have to lift them back up again.”
Ely, the lone sophomore, shot 81-82 for a 163 total. Although his scores were not needed because of the overall team depth, they provided great insurance in case one of the other players faltered.
“We were fully confident in our abilities, and we knew we had a chance coming in,” he said. “We just needed to put two good scores together.”
Rosendale said he was pleased to be a part of the team that delivered the first Finals championship to Coach Sternburgh.
“I’m really proud of our coach and excited for him, and we finally got him one,” Rosendale said.
Sternburgh, a retired middle school English teacher, said after that next year will be his final year as the St. Johns boys golf coach.
“I’m going to retire with these guys,” he said. “This hasn’t sunk in yet, just the reality of it. It is amazing because this is such an amazing group of young men to be with. They have been with me through some really tough times. I lost my wife two years ago, and they were just great through it all.
“It’s kind of like the cherry on the top, like you are building an ice-cream float. This is the cherry. This is all the years of really, really amazing golfers and young men who have come through the program.
“For me, doing it this long, the wins and losses aren’t as important as the relationships that we have formed. But to get our banner up in the gym, and our names will be up there, and that will be very special.”
PHOTO: (Top) St. Johns' Zeke Ely watches a shot during Saturday's second round at Bedford Valley. (Middle) Eric Nunn putts on the way to helping the Redwings to the Division 2 title. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Strong Finishes Vault Lumen Christi to Top
June 10, 2017
By Butch Harmon
Special for Second Half
BIG RAPIDS – After coming up three strokes short of an MHSAA title last season, the seniors on the Jackson Lumen Christi boys golf team were determined to leave Big Rapids with a championship trophy this weekend.
That determination was put to the test on both days of the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final at Katke Golf Course, home of the Ferris State University golf teams. Turning in strong scores on the back nine both Friday and Saturday, Lumen Christi finished with a two-day total of 639 strokes. Hometown contender Big Rapids took the runner-up trophy with a 647 while Grand Rapids West Catholic, a team featuring three sets of twins, placed third with a 659.
The road to the title was anything but easy for Lumen Christi. While the Titans returned four seniors from last year’s runner-up squad, they faced challenges from the beginning of the season through their final holes of this spring.
“We had four seniors on this year’s team, and that always helps having that senior leadership,” said Lumen Christi coach Dave Swartout. “What is real amazing about this group is they never quit. We started poorly on both days, but the guys just kept plugging away and plugging away and plugging away. We really played well on the second nine on both days. These were long, six-hour days, and to do what they did on the second nines was just amazing.”
Senior Logan Anuszkiewicz led the way for the Titans as he shot rounds of 75 and 78 to finish in a tie for third individually with a 153 total. The team title was the first since 2012 for Lumen Christi, and for this group of seniors it was a goal they’d had since entering high school.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Anuszkiewicz said. “Four years in a row we’ve been close, and finally we did it.”
Fellow senior Phil Stuart was a testament to Lumen Christi’s tenacity. Stuart carded rounds of 81 and 82, but the scores were hard-earned.
“I shot a nine on number one (a par four) today so I didn’t start out strong,” Stuart said. “I wasn’t about to give up, so I kept grinding for the team. We really wanted this, so we all just kept grinding.”
One of Lumen Christi’s biggest obstacles came shortly before the season began when Luke Girodat, the Titans’ number one golfer, was hit by illness.
“Luke, our number one player, came down with mononucleosis before the season, and that put a crimp in things,” Swartout said. “He shot an 83 and an 84 for us this weekend, and that was with him feeling about 70 percent. He just never quit and kept grinding.”
“We just wanted this, that was it,” Girodat said. “We lost last year when we couldn’t finish on the back nine, and we were not going to have that happen this year.”
Senior Riley Hestwood turned in rounds of 85 and 81, believing all the time in his coach and teammates.
“Coach told us to keep going and keep grinding it out,” Hestwood said. “We believed in each other and our team and just kept grinding.”
Big Rapids, playing in the shadow of its high school just up the road, improved on a third-place finish from last year and also provided itself with a tangible goal heading into next season as the team will graduate just one player.
“First off, congratulations to Lumen Christi,” said Big Rapids coach Mark Posey. “They played two good days of golf. It always hurts and stings for a while, but we hope to move up one more spot next year. We have four guys coming back for next year.”
Tait Morrissey, that lone senior, fired rounds of 79 and 85.
“We sent Tait out with a second this year after a third last year,” Posey said.
Sophomore Pierce Morrissey finished in a tie for fifth individually with rounds of 77 on both days for a 154 total.
Charlevoix senior Matt Good came away with the individual medalist honor. Like the Lumen Christi team, Good needed to grind it out both days plus one additional hole as he and Tawas junior Daniel Shattuck both carded 150s for the tournament, forcing a playoff.
On the first hole of the playoff, both Good and Shattuck reached the green in three strokes. However, Good had a 4-foot putt while Shattuck faced roughly a 30-footer. Shattuck two-putted the hole and Good drained his on the first try to win the individual title.
“I just focused on my breathing and making good swings,” Good said. “I put in a lot of hard work, and it paid off.”
That hard work included countless hours working on short putts like the one that won him the title.
“I’ve spent thousands of hours dropping down a chalk line and practicing those 4-footers,” Good said.
He was two strokes off the lead heading into Saturday and started the final 18 slow, but came on strong on the back nine.
“I struggled at the start today,” Good said. “I started with a double and then bogeyed the next hole. I just kept grinding and trying to hang in there all day. I just tried to hang in there both days.”
For Good, hanging in there has been the story of his high school career, as he returned to the Finals this season for the first time since his freshman year.
“I struggled the last two years,” Good said. “I worked real hard over the offseason, and I had some really big goals this year and I achieved every one of them.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Jackson Lumen Christi’s Luke Girodat follows a shot during Saturday’s Division 3 Final. (Middle) Charlevoix’s Matt Good watches his approach on the way to winning the individual title. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)