Houghton Extends Finals Streak to 5
May 28, 2015
By Dennis Grall
Special for Second Half
IRON MOUNTAIN – When most people think of the Upper Peninsula's Copper Country, snow (huge amounts) and ice hockey come to mind.
Golf likely would not even be on the radar for most people. There is only one 18-hole course – Portage Lake Golf Club is an excellent layout – in the entire region to go with five 9-hole tracks, and the season is just more than five months long, in a good year.
But the Houghton High School girls easily can convince the most serious doubter that golf is a very attractive and popular activity. They showed that again in a big way here Thursday, romping to their fifth straight Upper Peninsula Division 1 golf championship.
The smallest in the nine-school field posted a 416 total to thump perennial contender Marquette by 20 strokes. Third-place Escanaba had 438, and no one else was better than 510.
Adding additional credence to the golf paradise aura is freshman Kaaren Liston of Houghton, who was medalist with a 90 at the very challenging Pine Grove Country Club. She was five strokes ahead of Marquette's Sydney Higgins, the only other entrant to break 100.
"This was a normal spring. It was a bit different," Houghton coach Corey Markham said of the ability to get on the course in mid-April instead of almost a month later in 2014. "The key is getting out and play and work on your game. They strive to get better.
"There is a lot of pride in the streak. There is not a whole lot of pressure."
Liston said her putting was a key, noting only one 3-putt green. "When I needed to make one, I made it. My chips I got close (to the hole). My putting saved me most of the time," she said. Her driving "was iffy. I hit it straight or to the right."
Liston had a key moment on her ninth hole, which was No. 18 after she started on No. 10. She pounded a long drive into the left rough but needed four swings from 110 yards before finally sinking a putt for double-bogey 6.
"I knew I needed to kick it in gear on the next nine," she said of that stumble that left her with a 10-over 46.
Liston spent spring break in Hilton Head, S.C., with her brother Wyatt and Gunnar Stein, who helped Houghton also retain the boys title. "That really helped get my swing in shape," she said.
She did not bring high personal expectations to Pine Grove. "I try to live in the moment, play my game and don't let it get to my head," she said. "This is great. I'm so excited about this. This is the icing on the cake."
Markham said his freshman ace "has a bright future. She is really a strong golfer."
PHOTOS: (Top) The Houghton girls golf team poses with its MHSAA championship trophy, the fifth straight won by the program. (Middle) Kaaren Liston of Houghton chips out of the rough around the green Thursday at the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Final at Iron Mountain Pine Grove Country Club. Liston claimed medalist honors with a 90 to lead the Gremlins. (Below) Sam Henderson of Escanaba blasts out of a bunker on the eighth hole. She shot 112 to help the Eskymos finish third. (Photos by Dennis Grall.)
Reigning Champ Adams, Neighbor Rochester High Aiming to Set Pace Statewide
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
August 17, 2023
The Lower Peninsula Division 1 Girls Golf Tournament might not be until October, but there probably will be many events before then that feel the same for Rochester Adams and Rochester High.
That’s because whether it’s at invitationals, dual matches or league tournaments, whenever they are competing at the same event, it will likely be more than a battle of the best teams in Rochester or Oakland County.
It could very well be a contest between the two best teams in the state that reside roughly three miles from one another.
“It’s nice to be battle-tested,” Adams coach Jeff Kutschman said. “We see Rochester this year between duals and tournaments probably six or seven times.”
Adams enters this year as the reigning LPD1 champion after a resounding triumph at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley a year ago.
The Highlanders captured their first Finals championship by finishing 47 strokes ahead of runner-up Brighton, and Adams might be even more potent this year. The only graduate off of that team was Grace Wang, so Adams is in a great spot to repeat with nine of 11 players back.
Laura Liu, Katie Fodale and Olivia Dance will be the senior leaders, with junior Alexa Camargo and sophomore Hannah Wang also back after playing at the Final last season.
“The mindset for the girls is just like it was last year, where it was one day at a time and one shot at a time,” Kutschman said. “We tried not to let anything get too big in front of us. Just go out and play golf. Just have a good time and focus on what you’re doing at the time.”
A traditional power that went through some hard times after winning its last Division 1 championship in 2016, Rochester seems to be back on the upswing.
The Falcons finished third at last year’s Final — 52 shots behind Adams — in what was their first top-5 finish since the 2016 squad won it all.
Even better for Rochester is that its best four golfers are back from last year’s team: seniors Brooke Haney and Natalie Haise, junior Madison Yang and sophomore Ananya Kumar.
For Rochester head coach Jeff Haney, who has helped guide the program to three Division 1 championships (2008, 2009, 2016) and two runner-up finishes since girls golf moved to the fall in 2007, it’s good to begin a season with lofty expectations once again.
“I’ll be honest, after we won in ’08 and ’09, I figured that would be the extent of that for me,” Haney said. “I was then fortunate to have those teams in ’15 and ’16. I really didn’t think it would come back around again. I feel pretty lucky to have a real strong team again.”
There is work for the Falcons to do in order to try and make up the 52-stroke difference Adams had on the Falcons last year, but Haney likes his team’s overall depth beyond the top four who are back.
“We have better depth than most people,” he said. “At a tournament, probably all nine of my girls can shoot under 100, compared to some other teams I’ve had where we barely had anyone who could shoot under 100.”
In fairness, Adams and Rochester won’t be the only title contenders in Division 1.
Brighton graduated just one senior from last year’s runner-up team and is powerful as well, while Rockford has four golfers back from its team that finished fifth last year, including senior Jessica Jolly, who tied for third individually at the 2022 Final.
But given the talent and experience both Adams and Rochester have back, don’t be surprised if the LP Division 1 Tournament in October turns into a de facto “Rochester Invitational.”
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties
PHOTOS (Top) Rochester High’s Madison Yang putts during last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final at Bedford Valley. (Middle) Adams celebrates its 2022 LPD1 title; the Highlanders graduated only one golfer. (Top photo by High School Sports Scene; middle photo courtesy of Adams’ athletic department.)