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Hackett Reaches Champion's Expectation

October 18, 2014

By Dean Holzwarth
Special to Second Half

ALLENDALE – Members of Kalamazoo Hackett’s girls golf team noticed the winter hats right away Friday night while shopping at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Grandville.

“We all wanted to match,” senior Carrie Radomsky said. “We sprinted toward them when we saw them.”

The stylish hats were needed on a frigid afternoon at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University, and they coincided with the Fighting Irish’s balanced play on the course.

Kalamazoo Hackett claimed its first MHSAA Finals title on Saturday with a dominating showing at the Lower Peninsula Division 4 championship tournament.

The Fighting Irish tallied a two-round score of 690 and defeated runner-up Harbor Springs (724) by 34 strokes.

Macomb Lutheran North placed third at 728.

“It means a lot,” fourth-year Kalamazoo Hackett coach Alan Radomsky said. “I was lucky when I came in four years ago that it already was a strong program. The players made the decision not only to be a good program, but they wanted to be great and do the best that they could.

“I believe if you set high expectations for kids, they love that, and these girls basically accepted that challenge. They practice hard every day, and they have fun every day. These girls have earned everything because of the amount of effort and work they put in.”

The Fighting Irish, who closed with a 341 in the final round, had two girls finish among the individual top 10.

Carrie Radomsky (87-82-169) tied for seventh, while junior Lizzie Stull (87-84-171) tied for ninth.

“This is so special,” Carrie Radomsky said. “I’m so happy to be able to win with my team, and this is the best team I could ask for to win a state championship with.

“At the beginning of the year we knew that we had a good chance to win state, and that has made it that much more special.”

Stull, the team’s No. 1 player, struggled on the front nine Saturday, but turned it around by shooting 1-over on the back.

“I realized that I needed to pull it together for my team because I wanted to make them proud, and I wanted to win a state championship,” Stull said. “I was playing for them and not myself. I know that it was hard conditions, but I’m so proud of everyone and everyone played really well.”

The remainder of the squad consisted of junior Rebecca Radomsky, senior Erinn Scott and sophomore Naomi Keyte.

Alan Radomsky was thrilled to share the feat with his two daughters on the squad.

“It’s incredibly special,” he said. “When the job came open, I didn’t want to coach. I thought they could learn more from someone else, and I could just be a parent.

“But I took (the job), and it ended up being the best experience I’ve ever had with anything I’ve done.”

Harbor Springs recorded its best Finals finish in school history. Senior Abbey Detmar made a fantastic comeback from a first-round 90 and carded a tournament-low 75 to place third overall.

“We strongly felt that we had a shot at it,” Harbor Springs coach Pete Kelbel said. “Coming out of regionals we had the lowest score of all the teams, so I thought coming down here that we were a legitimate contender for the title.

“We knew the history of Kalamazoo Hackett, so we’re not disappointed to lose to them. I’m very proud of the girls for runner-up and very happy.”

Maple City Glen Lake sophomore Nichole Cox captured individual honors.

Cox earned medalist with a 159 after rounds of 83 and 76. She edged Farwell’s Bria Colosky (83-77-160) by one stroke.

“I just wanted to do better than Friday and stay focused,” Cox said. “My goal coming in was to win, and when I looked at everyone who was playing, I thought I had a chance.”

Cox registered three birdies in her final round, and her only hiccup was a double-bogey on the last hole.

“That stunk, but I was still OK,” Cox said. “I was a little worried after that because I didn’t know how far ahead I was.”

Cox said an improved putting stroke and consistency from the fairway helped propel her to the top of the leader board.

“All of my putts were going in until that last hole, and I was getting on the greens in regulation,” she said. “I also hit my driver straighter. 

“I don’t think I’ve comprehended all of this yet, but I’m very happy.”

Click for full results.

PHOTOS: (Top) Kalamazoo Hackett had been a contender in the past, but claimed its first MHSAA title Saturday. (Middle) Maple City Glen Lake sophomore Nichole Cox follows through on a putt on the way to winning the individual title. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com).

Sailors Book 23rd Straight Finals Trip

October 17, 2018

By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half

GRAND RAPIDS – A familiar name is once again among the qualifiers for this weekend’s MHSAA Division 3 Girls Golf Finals.

Grand Rapids South Christian has made annual appearances in the season-ending event and put together quite an impressive streak.

The Sailors claimed a Regional title last Wednesday and punched their ticket to the Finals for the 23rd consecutive year.

“We’ve been able to go to state for a lot of years, and that’s been awesome,” South Christian’s No. 1 player, senior Natalie Samdal said. “We take a lot of pride in the fact that no matter who is on the team we’ve worked really hard to achieve the goal of going to state.”

South Christian, which won Division 3 championships in 2007 and 2009 and has finished runner-up six times, will play at Michigan State’s Forest Akers East Golf Course on Friday and Saturday.

The Sailors placed runner-up to Macomb Lutheran North a year ago by a mere three strokes and should be in the mix again with a veteran lineup consisting of four who competed in the Finals last season: Samdal, seniors Ashley Keen and Sara VanSolkema and junior Maddie Wieringa.

VanSolkema suffered a slight knee ligament tear at Regionals and didn’t play. She’s expected to return for the Finals.

“We have a lot of returning girls from last year, and they’ve played well,” South Christian coach Ben Cook said. “Natalie is our best player and has played a lot of tournament golf, and Ashley put a lot of time in this summer and has improved a lot. Those two have led us this season.”

The Sailors, whose top five also includes sophomore Kate Hoekwater, have similar expectations for success at the Finals this year as well, although the field is filled with several talented teams.

“Last year I would’ve been disappointed if we didn’t finish in the top five, and our goal going in was to shoot around 700 and we shot exactly 700 – so that was pretty cool,” Cook said. “Obviously we would like to finish one place higher this year, but we know the competition is tough. I think we’re one of the top teams, and we will see how it plays out.”

Keen said it was important to advance to the Finals again despite key graduation losses.

“It’s a big deal for us, and we’re excited to be going again,” she said. “We were a little nervous because we lost two very good players that graduated, but I’m proud to say that we made it again.

“This is my third year on varsity, and I want this to be the best ending in a good way. It was tough being so close last year, and it would be cool if we won because we’ve put a lot of work in.”

The team also received a congratulatory tweet from another sport at the school after winning its Regional.

The football team made a short video and posted it on social media.

“I thought that was pretty cool, and I wasn’t expecting that,” Keen said. “Golf doesn’t get a lot of credit from other sports, so that was a surprise to me. I liked it, and they just congratulated us on winning Regionals and told us good luck at state.”

Samdal has been the catalyst in the program’s ability to remain consistent. As a four-year performer, she’s dropped her scores steadily and been among the Grand Rapids area’s best.

She tied for third individually at last season’s Final and will play golf next year at Davenport University.

“She’s improved every year and is a solid player all the way around,” Cook said. “She’s tough mentally as well and wants to do well. She’s driven that way.”

Samdal is vocally talented, too, and is part of the choir program at South Christian. She said both pursuits help bring out the best in her.  

“I’ve been singing my whole life, and both choir and golf take a lot of practice and hard work,” said Samdal, who joined her choir in singing “The Star Spangled Banner” at an NCAA Division III basketball game. “You can’t just jump right to it. You have to work at it.”

The forecast for the weekend isn’t expected to be ideal for golf, but the Sailors are determined to conquer the elements.

“We played a practice round last weekend and that helped, but our team will fight through the cold or rain or whatever it throws at us,” Samdal said.

She is looking forward to her final high school tournament.

“I’m going to miss high school golf, but part of me is excited for college golf as well,” she said. “I don’t think it will be as emotional as it would be if I wasn’t playing more, but it will be bittersweet.

“I think we have the potential to be in the top five as a team, and possibly the top three. We will see how well we can do.”

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.

PHOTOS: (Top) South Christian’s girls golf team poses with its latest Regional championship trophy, won last Wednesday. (Middle) Natalie Samdal tees off during last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final. (Top photo courtesy of South Christian’s athletic department; middle by HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)