Brown, Bark River-Harris Repeat in UPD3
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 28, 2015
ESCANABA — St. Ignace High School was represented by just one golfer at Thursday’s Upper Peninsula Division 3 Girls Final.
Senior Margo Brown, however, represented her school admirably by earning medalist honors with an 83 at the Escanaba Country Club.
“It’s a beautiful day,” said Brown, who will play basketball at Ferris State University next winter. “It was a little windy, but it wasn’t that big a thing. I like this course. It’s pretty open and it’s in pretty good shape. I think the rain we got last (Wednesday) night helped a little.”
This marked the third consecutive year Brown was crowned individual champion. She also won Division 3 in 2013 and captured the Division 2 title a year ago.
Bark River-Harris retained its team title with 439 strokes. Crystal Falls Forest Park went home with the runner-up trophy for the second straight year with 457, and third-place Engadine had 464 on this sunny and mild day.
“That’s a very tough task, especially in D-3 with so many good teams,” said BR-H coach Scott Farnsworth. “All of the girls improved through the season. They put a lot of time and effort into their game. I don’t put any pressure on the kids. I just stress working hard in practice. Many of the girls play during the summer. For the most part, they know and understand the game. They do the work. I just offer them guidance.”
Forest Park coach Harold Payne was pleased with the runner-up finish.
“This was absolutely a solid performance by our girls,” he said. “I’m very proud of their performance today. We have one senior who has played for a year. Our junior (Annie Taylor) who placed fifth today means a lot to our team. She keeps improving every year and our two freshmen have come a long way. Both of our freshmen hadn’t played much golf before this year. We’re very pleased, especially for having only four girls. All of them did what they were supposed to do. Our (Skyline Central) conference represents itself well.”
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BR-H junior Hannah Starnes and DeTour sophomore Madison Wilke shared the individual runner-up spot at 92.
Brown stated with a double-bogey on No. 1 and finished with a 43 on the front nine. She followed with 40 on the back.
“When you have a bad hole, you’ve got to shake it off and do better on the next hole,” she said. “My irons were pretty good. My drives were decent, and I started making good putts. On the back nine I was ready to go. Number 10 was a pretty good hole. After Number 10, I knew I was going to have a pretty good back nine.”
Starnes improved by two strokes from a year ago on this course.
“The first nine holes were pretty rough, but the back nine went better,” she said. “My swing felt a lot smoother once I got into a rhythm. My second shot got better this year. I struggled with my woods last year, but I worked on that extensively and feel more comfortable with my whole game.”
Wilke added a stroke to last year’s score.
“I had a lot of bad shots,” said Wilke. “It was a lot of different things at different times, although I’m pleased to come out of here as a runner-up. I think everyone was nervous today.”
PHOTOS: (Top) St. Ignace's Margo Brown watches a shot on hole No. 6 at Escanaba Country Club on Thursday. (Middle) Bark River-Harris' Hannah Starnes sizes up a shot on No. 3. (Photos by Keith Shelton.)
Iron Mountain Atones, Emeralds Ace Medals
June 2, 2016
By Dennis Grall
Special for Second Half
NORWAY – The Iron Mountain girls golf team found solid incentive and excellent motivation and turned that into an Upper Peninsula championship Thursday.
The Mountaineers atoned for a third-place finish a week earlier in the Mid-Peninsula Conference tournament, also held here at Oak Crest Golf Club, to overcome M-PC champion Manistique for the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 2 title title. IM finished at 490, a dozen strokes ahead of Manistique, which slid back to third.
Iron River West Iron County finished second in the five-team field with 497.
A week earlier Manistique shot 460 while IM had 499. Ishpeming Westwood, the M-PC runner-up, competed in the Division 1 Final on Thursday in Ishpeming.
"Each one of them improved their game from the Mid-Pen Conference," said IM coach Bucky Johnson. "We played a little better and a few of their (Manistique) girls didn't play as good."
Manistique coach Deb Taylor agreed, adding "our girls just didn't play up to their potential today."
Johnson said he discussed his team's prospects with the girls leading up to the U.P. Finals. "We have been chasing Manistique all year. I told them if we keep getting better we will have the opportunity to win the championship," he said.
The girls responded, which did not surprise Johnson because they have participated in all the team practices and meets all season. "Their consistency paid off; they were persistent," he said.
IM succeeded with three juniors (Lexi Verrette, Libby Brown and Megan Milliron), sophomore Miranda Julian and freshman Jenna Santini. Milliron led the Mountaineers with a 53-60 - 113.
"If each girl improved their score by five to seven strokes, I knew we would have a legitimate chance of winning," said Johnson. "All year I thought we would have a chance."
One member of the Emeralds who did play well was senior Rachel Ryan, who earned medalist honors with a 105 (52-53). "She has been here four years and has been steady," said Taylor.
Ryan credits her father, Manistique athletic director Rob Ryan (one of the better men's golfers in the Upper Peninsula), for getting into position to take the top spot.
"He never pushed me to play, but he definitely encouraged me to play," she said. "I learned everything I know from him."
Ryan kept pushing forward throughout her round, which helped her maintain poise when she had some poor shots. "I try not to get upset; that would never help," she said. "I try to stay pretty mentally stable. I try to stay calm and collected."
That solid thought process also came in handy when she began to rely on her "go-to" 3-wood for many tee shots. "I started making safer choices," she said of declining to hit driver.
She had problems putting, agreeing the greens were notably slower than at her home course, Manistique Indian Lake, which is known for its slippery putting surfaces. Faced with the slower greens, she said, "I stood over the ball and told myself to hit it to the back of the hole.
"I knew if I played my best I would have a chance (to medal). I just tried to relax and have fun. This is my last one ever (as a high school golfer)."
PHOTOS: (Top) Rachel Ryan of Manistique watches her tee shot on No. 4 on Thursday at Norway's Oak Crest Golf Club during the Upper Peninsula Division 2 golf tournament. Ryan was medalist with a 105. (Middle) Iron Mountain won the team championship; the team includes, from left, coach Bucky Johnson, Libby Brown, Miranda Julian, Lexi Verrette, Jana Santini and Megan Milliron. (Photos by Denny Grall.)