Bark River-Harris Ends MHSAA Title Wait
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 29, 2014
ESCANABA — After nearly 40 years of trying, Bark River-Harris finally has an Upper Peninsula girls golf championship to call its own.
The Broncos captured their first Division 3 title on a sunny and mild Thursday with 415 strokes. They were followed by Crystal Fall Forest Park with 441 and Ontonagon at 464.
“I thought this was going to be very tight,” said BR-H coach Scott Farnsworth. “Forest Park has four seniors and a very strong program. I honestly thought it would be within a few strokes.”
BR-H senior Savana Stenberg also was crowned individual champion for the first time, edging DeTour freshman Madison Wilkie on a tie-breaker.
Nerves were evident as both girls needed five strokes to complete the playoff hole, with each missing a three-foot putt before finding the bottom of the cup.
During the playoff, Wilkie inadvertently picked up the ball while it was lying on the fringe. After the hole was done, Stenberg was declared the winner following a brief meeting of the coaches involved and course officials.
“Yes, I did touch it,” Wilkie acknowledged. “I just kind of forgot myself at the moment.”
The girls set themselves up with strong tee shots that landed about halfway down and on the left side of the fairway, followed by solid approach shots.
“I think we should have played another hole,” Stenberg said. “On the course, I wasn’t nervous. But the playoff hole was nerve-wracking. I tried to think I was by myself. I usually tell myself I have to do well. But it seemed like I couldn’t play at all today. My putting was way off.
“It’s just a relief to get this meet in and come out on top. This is also kind of sad because it’s my last high school meet, although I’ll be playing in a junior league this summer.”
Both girls recorded a 91 through the 18 regulation holes, setting the stage for the playoff.
“I didn’t think I’d do very good because I four-putted the first hole,“ Wilkie said. “I just had to forget about it. We still had 17 more holes. I did well on the par-5s. My drives were pretty good, but my approach shots worked the best. This was definitely a learning experience.”
BR-H sophomore Hannah Starnes placed third with 94, followed by Mid Peninsula junior Hunter Branstrom at 95 and Cedarville sophomore Anna Eberts at 97.
“I was real nervous on the front nine, but played my game on the back nine,” Starnes said. “I calmed down once we got to the back nine. I didn’t overthink anything and established a rhythm.”
The Broncos were runners-up and Stenberg placed third at the 2013 Final at Highland Golf Club in nearby Hyde.
“Winning this meet was our goal all year,” Farnsworth said. “With the talent we had, I thought we could get there. These girls are hard workers. They deserve this because they’ve put the time and effort into it.”
Forest Park was led by Anne Taylor with 107 strokes, followed by Toni Santi at 109.
“All the girls played well,” Forest Park coach Harold Payne said. “We played for only three weeks this year because of the (unseasonably cold) weather.
“This is a great group of girls. We’re senior-dominated, although our sophomore had the lowest score. Among our six golfers, we’re losing four good seniors. Each year you’re dealt a new hand, which makes it exciting. The challenge is keeping kids interested and hopefully pick up a few more.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Savanna Stenberg of Bark River-Harris chips out of a hazard and onto the No. 10 green Thursday during the Upper Peninsula Division 3 Final at Escanaba Country Club. (Middle) Hunter Branstrom of Rock Mid Peninsula sends a shot from the No. 1 fairway. (Photos by Keith Shelton.)
Sisters Shine as Dow Charges to 1st Title
October 15, 2016
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
ALLENDALE – A friendly rivalry between two talented sisters helped the Midland Dow girls golf team accomplish a feat this weekend that was four years in the making.
Senior Stephanie Carras and junior Alexis Carras forged a competitive battle for individual honors and propelled the Chargers to a victory at Saturday’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final at The Meadows at Grand Valley State.
Midland Dow won its first MHSAA girls golf title in school history by firing a two-day total of 645. It defeated runner-up and reigning champion Birmingham Seaholm by a whopping 48 strokes.
Stephanie Carras captured medalist honors with a 139 to outduel her younger sibling by six strokes. Flushing’s Kerrigan Parks was third with a 150.
“It’s a healthy rivalry between us,” said Stephanie Carras, who shot under-par both days with rounds of 69 and 70. “We support each other, and it helps both of us.”
Added Alexis Carras, who shot 76 on Friday before closing with a final round 4-under 69: “We’re always secretly hoping the other one does well too. If we’re close, we start getting on each other. I didn’t know what I was shooting until the last hole when my dad told me. I didn’t know I was beating Steph.”
Both girls tied the school record with their 69s. Stephanie Carras equaled the score of 2009 Finals medalist Kim Dihn earlier in the season and duplicated that number Friday.
“It’s definitely a friendly rivalry between those two, which pushes them and helped us to accomplish as a team what we just did today,” Midland Dow coach Doug Bradford said. “They root for each other, but there is a competitiveness between them. They always want to know where the other one is and how close they are.
“It was a great effort today, and obviously Stephanie and Alexis just played lights out.”
The Chargers had been close in previous seasons with top-5 finishes at the Finals each of the last three seasons.
They finished runner-up a year ago to Birmingham Seaholm, which saw a stretch of three consecutive Division 2 crowns come to an end.
“We quietly talked about it all year,” Bradford said. “We didn’t come out and talk about it every day, but we talked about the goal and the goal was a state championship. We had three goals. Win league, win regionals and then state.
“Any state championship is wonderful, and it’s what you dream of as a kid. Either to play for one or coach one and to be a part of this is just really fun. The freshmen coming through have been so close, and for them to finish their careers with a state championship is just great.”
The Chargers received contributions from others as well. Junior Giacomina Fabiano and seniors Caroline Szabo and Morgan Dieters also delivered consistent scores.
Szabo said team chemistry was the catalyst in her team’s triumph.
“We’re all such good friends, and it is so cool to do it with people you are close with,” she said. “We want to do well for each other, not just ourselves. This is really amazing because we’ve done a ton of things that this program has never done, but we couldn’t do the one we really wanted. This was our ultimate goal, and it’s really amazing.”
Stephanie Carras, who will play golf at the University of Georgia next season, also had motivation from last year.
She finished runner-up for medalist honors, but saved her best for last with solid putting on the greens.
“It’s incredible, and I’m so excited because I’ve never won as an individual,” Stephanie Carras said. “This is big, and yesterday and today my putting was just going well. I feel like that helped me out here. I had the lead going into today, but my coach told me it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
The Chargers built a commanding 19-stroke lead after the first day.
“We knew we were in good shape, but they still put some pressure on themselves,” Bradford said. “I think they did a great job of finishing, and I’m really proud of them.”
Alexis Carras said she and her teammates took the early advantage in stride and just dedicated themselves to remaining poised.
“Last year was disappointing because we didn’t play well, and we were just really hoping for it this year,” she said. “We just decided to play our games and whatever happens, happens. Just do your best, and that’s what we did. I can’t believe it. This is surreal.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Midland Dow's Stephanie Carras watches one of her shots during Saturday's second round at The Meadows. (Middle) Sister Alexis Carras follows through during her second round. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)