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.)
Kennedy Repeat Keys Marian Title Sweep
October 19, 2019
By Steve Vedder
Special for Second Half
ALLENDALE – Shannon Kennedy had no trouble sleeping the night before her drive for a second MHSAA Finals title in three years.
The Bloomfield Hills Marian junior held a two-shot lead after the first round of the Lower Peninsula Division 3 championship at The Meadows. But instead of fretting over the many pitfalls which cause golfers to stumble, Kennedy promptly sealed her title Saturday with an even-par round of 73, including a clutch birdie on No. 18.
"I slept pretty well," said Kennedy after finishing with a two-day total of 143, three shots better than Flint Powers Catholic two-time all-stater Jolie Brochu. "You just have to go out and play your game. I felt like I was going to win."
Kennedy's individual championship sparked Marian to the team title, its first. The Mustangs finished with a 689, three shots better than reigning champ Powers. Marian shot a 335 the first day to lead the Chargers at that point by 11 shots.
Kennedy also had won the Division 2 championship as a freshman and finished third a year ago. She said she was confident the team would be in the hunt for a championship with a chance at upsetting a Powers team which lost only one golfer from 2018. After Marian captured the Catholic League championship late in the season, Kennedy said a whisper about winning a state crown grew into a real opportunity.
"We always knew it was a small possibility. We didn't talk too much about it until we got here and we thought, 'Hey, we can do this thing,’" she said.
Marian co-coach Cathie Fritz agreed with Kennedy that winning this weekend was a possibility. Fritz and co-coach Leon Braisted teamed up to win five Finals titles with five second-place finishes at Birmingham Seaholm until moving to Marian four years ago.
"We've got girls who work hard," Fritz said. "Marlo Hudson is our only senior, Shannon has worked hard the last 12 months and we've got multiple juniors who we knew would keep us in the hunt."
Marian's three juniors – Lauren Sass, Laura Emerson and Sarah Kuredjian – all broke 100 on Saturday. Hudson had rounds of 79 and 91.
Detroit Country Day finished third with a 711, Marshall was fourth at 712 and Big Rapids rounded out the top five with a 731. Powers entered the tournament ranked No. 1, while Marian was second and Big Rapids – which has four top-10 finishes since 2016 – was No. 3.
Other top individuals this weekend included Marshall's Karlee Malone, who was third with a 153. Madeline Blum of Marysville was fourth with a 160, and three golfers tied for fifth at 163: Haslett's Sydney Dausman, Grand Rapids Christian's Ryann Breslin and Big Rapids' Hope Thebo.
Braisted said Kennedy's individual title was no surprise to him.
"It's not about her; she's very humble," he said. "She's that precise. It's important to her to win, but she really wanted the team to win."
Powers coach Jim Snow said there is often a small gap between high expectations and actually winning a championship.
"Golf is a funny game. You don't always win just because you're favored," he said. "There can be weird bounces or a putt won't fall. To win a championship, things have to fall into place. That's just the nature of the business. You have to be precise and if you're not, you don't win.
"We played hard and just lost to a good team."
PHOTOS: (Top) Marian’s Shannon Kennedy follows through on an approach during Friday’s first round of the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final. (Middle) Powers’ Jolie Brochu follows one of her drives. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)