Escanaba Ends Houghton's Title Streak
June 2, 2016
By Keith Shelton
Special for Second Half
CHAMPION – For a full calendar year, the Escanaba girls golf team had a singular goal, and some lofty expectations.
Houghton's Division 1 title streak had reached five years running, and the Gremlins were again led by sophomore Kaaren Liston, a formidable golfer who was medalist at last year's MHSAA U.P. Final at Pine Grove. Houghton shot a 416 that day, far higher than what the talented Gremlins had been averaging during the season, but still 22 strokes better than third place Escanaba.
That was the mountain the Eskymos faced as they went into last summer's offseason. But from that point on, it was all business.
Escanaba improved by leaps and bounds across the board through hard work and focus this season. On Thursday it all paid off, as the Eskymos were crowned U.P. Division 1 champions at Wawonowin Golf Club, breaking up the Gremlins’ long run.
Escanaba shot 366 as a team, among the best team scores of the last decade by a girls team in the Upper Peninsula, and third at the Finals only to Houghton's 347 in 2013 and 365 in 2012.
"I would like to know how many U.P.'s that (score) would have won in the last decade," remarked Eskymos coach Brian Robinette. “Probably all of them."
Escanaba was strong in returning talent at the beginning of the season, but it was the addition of freshman Paxton Johnson that put the Eskymos over the top. A quietly confident, focused and mentally strong golfer, Johnson's scores drew eyebrows from day one. She was medalist at her first meet of the season and continually improved as the short golf season went on.
On Thursday, Johnson turned in a balanced effort, free of double bogeys, and was medalist with an 86. She improved by three strokes from a multi-team meet at Wawonowin earlier this season. Yet, being the competitor she is, Johnson expressed her commitment to keep working.
"I improved by three strokes from the first time I played here, which I was pretty happy about," Johnson said. "I didn't have any doubles, but I still could have definitely played better. I still shot well enough though."
Playing in a foursome with Houghton's Liston, Menominee's Emma Hofer and Gladstone's Ashley Edwardsen, Johnson embraced the competition level. Her and Liston were all even through 17 holes, until the 18th when Liston triple bogeyed. Johnson escaped with a bogey and the title. Liston finished as runner-up with an 88, along with Ellie Hicks of Marquette.
"It definitely helps to be neck and neck with someone," said Johnson.
But the main philosophy the Escanaba girls subscribed to was not focusing on competition against other teams and players, but internal competition within each of them.
"I think they were all looking at this as, not playing against Houghton or Gladstone, but playing against the shot that golf is asking me to hit," said Robinette. "They really have embraced that concept, and that's what an intelligent golfer will do. When you take all that other fluff away, and all you can control is the shot in front of you. I'd say they effectively accomplished that today."
Houghton's runner-up team score of 389 would have been good for first on a lot of days. While Gremlins coach Corey Markham was pleased with his team's play, he could only tip his hat to the play of Escanaba.
"Our girls played very well today, like we expected. But they ran into a great Escanaba team," Markham said. "A 366 score is phenomenal. They just had a great day. You're not going to beat that score too often."
Escanaba's Megan Dagenais placed fourth with a 91, and teammate Kaitlin Cole tied for fifth with a 93 with Sydney Higgins of Marquette. Emily Hossele rounded out the Eskymos' top four with a 96, good for eighth overall.
After Escanaba and Houghton, there was a drop-off of 22 strokes to third place Marquette with 411. Calumet was fourth with 450 and Gladstone fifth with 454.
With Escanaba's mission accomplished and a job well done, Johnson has personal aims to continue to improve.
"It's going to be golf, all summer long," Johnson vowed.
And if the rest of the team improves, the Eskymos could be favored to repeat next season. Emily Hossele is the only top-five senior on the team.
PHOTOS: (Top) Escanaba’s Paxton Johnson watches her shot on the No. 2 fairway at Wawonowin Country Club. (Middle) Houghton's Kaaren Liston hits out of a tough lie on No. 2. (Photos by Keith Shelton.)
Good to Great, to Miss Golf Candidate
October 7, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A seventh grader at the time, Jacqueline Setas followed DeWitt’s Liz Nagel through newspaper articles as the Panthers standout played her way to the 2008 Miss Golf Award.
Nagel is considered perhaps the best ever to come from the Lansing area. But the same is being said now of the Lansing Catholic junior's potential.
Setas has accomplishments to earn to match Nagel, but is off to a strong start with two Division 4 all-state selections. And this summer, Setas found herself finishing second only to Nagel in the stroke play of the Michigan Women’s Amateur – and then matching Nagel by making the semifinals of the match play.
It was a tremendous performance during an excellent summer, and further set the table for the high expectations Setas is making good on this fall.
“It’s crazy to be mentioned in the same breath as her,” Setas said of Nagel. “I feel like this summer, I was playing really well. I feel my game was up there with (the best) too.”
A Second Half High 5 recipient this week, Setas has won five tournaments this season and finished second twice as the two-time MHSAA Division 4 champion Cougars have loaded their schedule with the best from all over the state. She’s averaging 74.3 strokes for 18 holes and 35.9 for nine-hole matches, and last week fired a 68 to win the Capital Area Activities Conference White championship at Wheatfield Valley.
Setas’ most impressive win likely came at the East Lansing Invitational at Walnut Hills Country Club, where she grew up winning junior club championships. She shot a 70 to finish five strokes better than a field that included returning all-state Super Team selection Hannah Pietila of Brighton.
Setas’ runner-up finishes were nearly as impressive as her wins – she shot a 72 at Milford’s Heather Highlands Shootout to finish second to Plymouth Super Team selection Kelsey Murphy, and shot a 76 to finish two strokes behind Muskegon Catholic Central all-stater Aya Johnson at Birmingham Country Club.
Setas shot 39 or better in all seven of her team’s nine-hole matches, finishing first at all but one and shooting lows of 30 and 33.
She is one of an impressive crew of golf talents in the Lansing area this fall: Okemos’ Elle Nichols, like Murphy, also is a returning Super Team selection, and Holt’s Pader Her and Lansing Catholic teammates Dani Crilley and Janie Fineis all can go toe-to-toe with the best in the state.
“Our top three have played incredibly consistent golf, and they’ve had a great run,” Cougars coach Mary Schafer said. “It’s that mixture of athletic ability, loving the sport and wanting to get better. They can have a ton of natural athletic ability, but they don’t reach their potential because they don’t work at it hard enough. If they’re prepared, keep working at it, and work at getting better, they go from being really good to great.”
And in Schafer’s mind, that describes Setas’ progression exactly.
Setas isn’t just a golfer. She plays wing on the basketball team and centerfield in the spring. But break down her golf game, and it’s easy to understand why she’s considered a natural at her favorite sport.
She drives the ball 260 yards, about 15 more than a year ago, and with a sharp short game to match. Her course management also has improved this fall, and her mentality is just right. “Bad bounces, they don’t last long with her,” Schafer said.
But Setas sees her success as a result of something more. She played every day from May into the beginning of high school season, and in tournaments all but two weekends this summer.
“Probably (it's) just the dedication that I’ve put in throughout the years,” Setas said. “People think it’s natural talent, and some of it is. But most of it is the hard work I’ve put in throughout the year.”