DeTour Girls Deliver 1st Title since 1999
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 1, 2017
GLADSTONE — Most, if not all DeTour High School girls weren’t around the last time a team from their school was crowned Upper Peninsula golf champion.
It was 1999, and the Raiders were competing in Class D at the time. Ontonagon was runner-up that year.
On Thursday, the Raiders ended their title drought by taking the Division 3 crown for the first time with 403 strokes. They were followed by reigning champion Cedarville with 406 and Ontonagon at 433.
“I had a feeling it would be between us and Cedarville,” said DeTour coach Ken Wilkie. “I think our depth was a factor, plus we have four seniors. It’s very important to have that senior leadership and experience. The girls knew what to expect. Hopefully, this will draw some interest from our younger girls.”
Cedarville freshman Lily Freel earned the medalist honor with an 82 at Irish Oaks Golf Course. She was followed by DeTour seniors Madison Wilkie and Kaalin Crawford at 85 and 86, respectively.
“In the beginning, it was definitely a struggle,” said Freel, who shot 98 in last year’s Finals at Escanaba Country Club. “It took me a couple holes to settle down. I wasn’t too nervous, but I could still feel the pressure. I could tell I was a little tense, then I was able to convince myself to relax. I had some bad shots, but was able to recover from them. Last year was good for me because I learned from playing with the other girls. I put a lot of time into my game last summer and had a better idea what to expect.”
Freel, who works at the Les Cheneaux Club in Cedarville, is no stranger to golf.
“I think it’s great,” she said. “I’m around it all the time. I live within a block of the club. I ride my golf cart there all the time.”
Wilkie, consistently in the title hunt throughout her high school career, came in as reigning champion. She tied for first as a freshman in 2014, then was runner-up as a sophomore.
“Everything started good,” said Wilkie, who will continue her golf career at Lake Superior State University. “My play on the front nine was as solid as I’ve had, then things kind of fell apart on the back nine. I couldn’t read the greens for some reason. If you missed the hole, the ball rolled a little further. I had a hard time adjusting. I had three bad holes in a role at one time. My putting was better on the front nine. The first hole is always hard. Everybody tends to be a little nervous. Lily played awesome. I’m proud of her.”
Crawford’s putting, however, improved on the back nine.
“I became a little more comfortable on the course,” said Crawford, who will play basketball at Alpena Community College in 2017-18. “This is the best I’ve done in competition. Everything just came together. It was a real nice day for golf. It wasn’t too hot or too cold. There also wasn’t much wind.”
Cedarville coach Rob Freel said he was pleased with the Trojans’ performance.
“I was hoping our girls would come out on top, but they played real well today,” he added. “We’re excited about Lily’s potential. She has worked hard on her game.”
PHOTOS: (Top) DeTour’s Kaalin Crawford gets ready to hit a tee shot during Thursday’s U.P. Division 3 Golf Finals at Gladstone’s Irish Oaks Golf Course. Watching Crawford hit are Ontonagon’s Samantha Lutz, left, and Engadine’s Lauren Dennis. (Middle) Cedarville’s Lily Freel hits a tee shot Thursday; she shot 82 to win the medalist honor. (Photos by Mike Mattson.)
Lumen Christi Builds a Champion, Greenhills Sophomore Repeats
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
October 15, 2022
ALLENDALE — There's no doubt that after 50 years of coaching, David Swartout can spin an interesting golf story or two. But his latest yarn might rank as one of the strangest.
Four years ago Swartout's Jackson Lumen Christi girls golf team was recruiting anyone who seemed to have an interest in the sport. What he never would have guessed was that diverse mix of multi-sport athletes would eventually earn a state championship.
But that's exactly the case after Lumen Christi shot a 688 to win Saturday's MHSAA Division 4 Finals at a blustery The Meadows at Grand Valley State.
Four years ago the program's only two returning letter winners began recruiting anyone who showed a interest in picking up a club. They wound up finding seven takers and the resulting nine seniors capped what Swartout can only describe as a "phenomenal."
The Titans wound up winning six of nine tournaments this season (finishing second in the other three), won their conference and last week's regional by 13 strokes. Lumen Christi won the MHSAA Finals by 23 strokes over runner-up Adrian Lenawee Christian.
Swartout can only marvel at how the program went from scrounging for players to his 17th state title in coaching both girls and boys.
"To go from there to a state title is phenomenal," said Swartout, who has coached two girls teams to titles. "The last three years we've improved by 100 shots. That's unheard of. I've never ever seen anything like that in all the teams I've had."
How did the program accomplish it? Swartout cites as example senior Ashley Hilderley, who hurt her knee playing volleyball on Wednesday and was told by doctors the only way she could participate in the state meet was if she didn't have to walk the course.
"So she limped around for two days," Swartout said of Hilderley, who finished in a tie for ninth with a 167.
Anna McClure led Lumen Christi with a 163 which put her in the sixth spot overall.
Ann Arbor Greenhills' Mia Melendez won the meet with a 149. Logan Bentley of Columbia Central was second with a 150, Grace Slocum of Traverse City St. Francis was third with a 151 while Montague had the next two placers in Mackenzie Goudreau (159) and Natalie Kellogg (162).
Hilderley said the Titans, who were the top-ranked team going into the meet, didn't let lofty expectations get in the way of performance.
"We don't think of ourselves as individuals. We're very much a team," she said. "If anyone ever has a bad day, someone will step up. We trust each other."
Hilderley said the team never considered giving in to pressure.
"I'd rather have people say we're good rather than say you aren't any good," she said.
Swartout won't go out on a limb and call this the best team he's ever coached. But there is one trait he points to in explaining the remarkable success. He said he'll see several of the kids at the driving range on his way home after practice.
"It's hard to do that after having so many teams, but this is one of my most special. I'll say that," he said. "To put in the kind of effort they put in makes them special. They work so hard, it's phenomenal."
Melendez won last year's state meet as a freshman. She said there's little doubt in the old adage that it's always harder to win the second time.
"It was. It's hard to live up to (last year's) title and it was a much different course this year," she said. "All around, I had to play better,"
Melendez finishes off an unbeaten season, including a regional title and the top spot going into Saturday.
"There was definitely a lot of pressure, but I committed myself to staying calm and just fighting hard," she said.
PHOTOS (Top) Sophomore Mia Melendez tees off at the 2022 MHSAA Division 4 Girls Golf Finals. (Middle) Jackson Lumen Christi wins the 2022 Division 4 team title. (Photos by Greg Chrapek.)