Relaxed Approach does FHN's Schab Good
May 27, 2016
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS -- Spencer Schab has a different approach to the game of golf this season.
The Forest Hills Northern senior isn’t taking things as seriously as in past years.
“I thought of it as, this is my senior year, it’s my last high school season, so why put so much pressure on myself and make it less enjoyable?,” Schab said. “I’m just going to go out and have fun.”
Schab’s change of attitude has served him and his team well.
The Huskies entered this week’s MHSAA District Tournament ranked No. 2 in Division 2, behind only Ottawa-Kent Conference Bronze rival Ada Forest Hills Eastern.
Schab, a two-time Lower Peninsula Division 2 all-state first team selection, has felt the pressure to produce low scores in recent years.
“The last couple years I’ve put too much weight on my shoulders to play well,” Schab said. “I’ve found that when I’m more focused on having a good time, like talking to my playing competitors, I end up playing better. This year has been fun.”
Schab has been a mainstay as the Huskies’ No. 1 golfer, but coach Brian Telzerow said his teammates have helped to ease the tension.
“He’s been the go-to guy so to speak and he’s always played in the No. 1 spot, but the nice thing about this year is all five guys who play can easily be the lowest score of the team,” he said. “Spencer doesn’t feel like he has to be the lowest guy, and so I think he is enjoying the game a little bit more because of that.”
Forest Hills Northern has a talented cast of seniors to accompany Schab in the top four. They include Phil Lodzinski, Chase Lebster and Brian McHale.
Josh Belfer is another senior, along with two freshmen.
The experience of the seniors has sparked the team’s success. It’s a group that has played together the past four years and has a strong bond on and off the course.
“That’s my favorite part about the team,” Schab said. “We’re all such good friends, and it makes the experience so much better for all of us because we’re a tight-knit group. We were friends before we were on the team, and being on the team has only strengthened our friendship.”
Lodzinski said the closeness among the seniors helps drive them to perform their best.
“We’re all best friends, and I think you try a little harder when you have friends on the team because you don’t want to let them down,” he said. “We have a good time together, and that makes it an enjoyable experience overall.”
The seniors played key roles in last year’s third-place finish at the Finals. They’re pulling together once again in an attempt to make a repeat trip.
“These seniors have played with each other for four years,” Telzerow said. “They know each other, they like each other and they have a good connection. They have a sense of we’re doing it for each other, just not for our own accomplishments.”
The ability to stay consistent also has been an important aspect, according to Lodzinski.
“We’ve had at least three or four scores in the 70s every tournament, and that comes with our maturity,” he said. “Compared to our freshman and sophomore years, we’re a lot better at managing ourselves on the course, and it’s led to better scoring and more consistency.”
All of the seniors recently graduated, and Schab said the stresses of the past few months have finally subsided. It has allowed time to focus solely on golf.
“I had a lot of extracurricular activities going on earlier in the year with AP exams and graduation, but it’s time to focus on practice and sharpening up for the postseason,” said Schab, who averaged 38.2 strokes for nine holes during the conference season. “Overall, I’m happy with how well I’m playing considering my shift in focus.”
Telzerow said Schab is starting to peak at the most important time of the spring.
“He’s starting to play better,” he said. “I think he did this last year where he kind of had a lull in the middle of the season and then really came on strong in the postseason. He shot 72 at the post-conference tournament and he’s the kind of guy that can go low very easily.”
The Huskies finished runner-up to conference champion Forest Hills Eastern. The two engaged in a competitive tussle throughout the season, and Telzerow hopes it pays off.
“We knew coming in that both of us had high-caliber players and we would be battling each other constantly,” he said. “And that happened. We both want to do well in Districts and Regionals. Our hope is to finish strong at the state tournament, but we recognize that you have to get there first.”
Districts begin today for the Huskies, and expectations are high. A lofty finish at the Finals would be a fitting ending to outstanding high school careers.
“Our whole goal is to win a state championship,” Lodzinski said. “We’re planning on working hard to make it to state and making a run at the championship.”
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTO: Forest Hills Northern's Spencer Schab follows through on a swing. (Photo courtesy of Forest Hills Northern yearbook staff.)
Golf Finals: Plenty of Familiar Faces
June 12, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The 2011 MHSAA Lower Peninsula Boys Golf Finals featured a number of outstanding performances from younger players still looking forward to one or more seasons left in their high school careers.
And that means this weekend's Finals will be filled with veterans and likely some much closer team competition than a year ago.
Three reigning team champions return four of their top five scorers from last season's tournament runs. Two individual champions also are back, along with half of the players who placed among the individual top 10 at the four Finals.
Below is a look at which teams and individuals could be competing for the top prizes by the end of this weekend. Play begins at 9 a.m. Friday, with the second round beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday.
Division 1 at The Meadows of Grand Valley State
Team favorite: It’s got to be reigning champion Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, which returns its top three and fifth scorer from the lineup that shot a solid 593 last season at Oakland University’s Katke-Cousins Golf Course. Last season’s runner-up, Davison, isn’t in the field this weekend, and no other team came within 12 of the Rangers in 2011.
Other contenders: Pinckney, Birmingham Brother Rice, Muskegon Mona Shores and Detroit Catholic Central finished third-sixth, respectively, last season, and all shot 605-617. Pinckney also brings back its top three and fifth scorer, while Brother Rice brings back four of its top five and Mona Shores its top three. Like Forest Hills Central, Plymouth shot a 296 at its Regional to finish tops in a tough field, and Traverse City West shot the low Division 1 Regional score, 293.
Medalist mix: Four of last season’s top 10 are back, led by FHC sophomore Max Rispler and Pinckney junior Otto Black. They tied for fourth last season, just two strokes off the lead, while Rangers teammates Andrew Yeager and Brody Fischer finished ninth and 10th, respectively, to cap their junior seasons. Mona Shores junior Reed Hrynewich should be back in the mix as well. He fell six strokes outside the top 10 in 2011, but tied for sixth as a freshman in 2010.
Division 2 at Ferris State’s Katke Golf Course
Team favorite: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood is ranked No. 1 after finishing runner-up a year ago at Forest Akers East. The Cranes are again led by reigning individual champion Griffin Smith, and senior Michael Ray tied freshman Dylan Deogun with a team low 80 at the Regional; Ray was the team’s third scorer last season.
Other contenders: DeWitt also returns two of its top five from last season’s team that shot an incredible 586 to win at Michigan State’s Forest Akers East. Seniors Tyler Polulak and Peter Von Spreecken have been augmented by freshman Owen Byer. Marshall is ranked No. 2 in the state poll and had four underclassmen among its top five at the Regional. Tecumseh posted the lowest Regional score in Division 2, 304, counting scores from five seniors.
Medalist mix: Cranbrook-Kingswood’s Smith, a senior, is likely to be chased again after shooting a 141 to win by two strokes in 2011 – although the top 10 last season was separated by a mere six strokes. Tecumseh’s Bobby Thomas, who tied for second, also is back after finishing two strokes off the lead. Big Rapids senior Blaze Hogan tied for seventh with a 146 and Polulak was 10th with a 147. Mason freshman Jason Brandt and Haslett senior Chris Beltzer also could make a push after shooting 71 and 73 at their respective Regionals – Brandt to finish second to Thomas, and Beltzer to win his.
Division 3 at Forest Akers East
Team favorite: Jackson Lumen Christi returns four of its low five scorers from last season’s 40-stroke win across the street from this season’s venue. Two of those players – seniors Austin Eccleton and Alex Reynolds – also finished among the top six individuals. Lumen Christi shot a 291 at its Regional to again crush the competition.
Other contenders: Although no one came close to the Titans a year ago, Grosse Ile came the closest among teams that return this spring, finishing third. The team’s top three and fifth scorer are back, led by senior Rob White, who like Reynolds tied for sixth individually in 2011. Hanover-Horton is ranked No. 3 in the state poll and like Grosse Ile shot a 307 at its Regional while taking two scores from freshmen.
Medalist mix: This came down to a tie-breaker a year ago won by Pontiac Notre Dame senior Aaron Knutson over Grand Rapids West Catholic junior Sam Weatherhead after both shot 140 over the first 36 holes. Knutson won his District and Weatherhead has been one of the state’s elite all season. But, again, this field is loaded, with Mount Morris senior Zachary Kiefer also back after tying for sixth last season.
Division 4 at Forest Akers West
Team favorite: By the rankings, it’s Saginaw Nouvel followed by Lake Leelanau St. Mary. But it’s hard to look past No. 3 Auburn Hills Oakland Christian. The Lancers, last season’s champions, bring back three of their top four from the 2011 Final, including two who finished among the top eight individually. Oakland Christian won last season’s championship by 11 strokes.
Other contenders: Nouvel does return two of its top three from last season’s Final, and shot a strong 311 at its Regional. Lake Leelanau St. Mary nearly matched with a 314 and has three of its scorers back from the team that finished 10th last spring. Ann Arbor Greenhills no longer has individual champion Henry Do – but does return four others who competed (two taking a round each in the fifth spot) for the team that finished second to Oakland Christian last season at The Meadows.
Medalist mix: Do might not be in the field, but seven of last season’s top 11 are led by reigning runner-up Ted Rider, a junior at Kalamazoo Hackett. Manistee Catholic Central junior Zack Bialik was a stroke behind him and Oakland Christian senior Zach Preuss was three back in finishing fourth among the individuals. Kalamazoo Christian senior Bailey Matheison, Saginaw Nouvel senior Dave Buko, Oakland Christian senior Tyler Coyne and Greenhills senior Travis Hindle all also finished among the top 10. Lake Leelanau freshman Joel Sneed looks like he might join that group after firing a 74 at his Regional.
PHOTO: Pontiac Notre Dame Prep's Aaron Knutson (left) and Grand Rapids West Catholic's Sam Weatherhead played in a tie-breaker for the Division 3 individiual championship in 2011.