Hrynewich's Star Continuing to Rise with Olympic, Pro Sports Arrivals

By Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com

June 30, 2022

Hailey Hrynewich is only 27, and she’s already worked as an on-camera reporter for NBC at the recent Winter Olympics and for The Golf Channel at last month’s Canadian Open.

Hrynewich, who goes by the name Hailey Hunter in her broadcasting career, gives much of the credit for her early success to her parents, her twin brother Reed, her teachers and her coaches.

But she learned even more from a game.

“I have learned so many life lessons from golf,” explained Hailey, who was an all-state golfer at Muskegon Mona Shores and led the Sailors to Lower Peninsula Division 2 championships all four years of high school, from 2009 to 2012.

“I learned how to prepare, to work hard, and I learned discipline. But I think the biggest thing golf taught me is how to be coachable and take criticism. I can honestly say that I love criticism. I need it to get better.”

Hrynewich, who also played soccer and ran track for one year at Mona Shores, grew up playing hockey on a homemade rink in her backyard and was a competitive figure skater. But it was golf that captured her heart.

Even though she is right-handed, she “wanted to play golf like my dad and brother,” who are both left-handed. So she started mimicking their swings, and not only got good at it, she became one of the top female left-handed golfers in the state.

In addition to the four team state titles, Hrynewich earned Division 2 all-state honors all four years and was a Super Team selection as a senior, given to the top eight golfers in the state, regardless of division.

But with her combination of smarts, a heavy dose of sports in her DNA and charismatic personality, Hrynewich was ready for her next challenge.

“I had a great high school experience,” said Hrynewich, who did journalism work and was a regular on Mona Shores morning announcements during the school days. “I learned so much and had so much fun. It made me want to learn more and go places.”

Golf & broadcasting

Hrynewich was one of those rare high school seniors who knew exactly what she wanted to do in college:

Play golf and study sports broadcasting.

With that in mind, she sat down during her senior year at Mona Shores with her father, Tim, who played nine years of professional hockey including two with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and did research to identify the top 10 sports broadcasting schools in the country.

Hailey HrynewichThat search led Hailey to Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where she was a four-year standout for the Division I Bobcats and a two-time academic all-Mid-American Conference selection.

Reed, who was an all-state golfer and hockey player at Mona Shores, chose to stay in-state and play golf at University of Michigan. His success on and off the course mirrored his sister – and they remain each other’s biggest fans.

“So many people in that industry get in because of their family or who they know, but that wasn’t the case with Hailey,” said Reed, who is four minutes younger than his twin sister. “When she gets a freelance gig, she will study non-stop for days and days to be 100-percent prepared. She has gotten where she is through hard work.”

Hailey said she gets her analytical side from her dad. When she was 12, she memorized the statistics of the top 50 golfers and hockey players.

“I thought that was fun,” Hrynewich explained.

Her outgoing personality and courage in new situations come from her mother Susan – and those traits come in handy as she juggles freelance broadcasting opportunities from all over the world, including getting set in front of the camera earlier this month at the RBC Canadian Open with stars such as Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Scottie Scheffler.

“I watch her clips and I see her talking to these famous people, and she’s so comfortable,” said Tim Hrynewich, who now works in real estate in Muskegon. “That’s the most impressive part of it to me. Her confidence. I could never do that.”

Proving herself

After graduating from Ohio University in 2017, Hailey still had the same two passions as when she graduated from Mona Shores four years earlier – golf and sports broadcasting.

The only difference is that she was now at the point where she had to choose between the two.

Hailey, who played in the prestigious U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2015, moved to Florida after graduation and turned pro for a short period – even shooting a career-best 66 in her first professional tournament.

Hailey HrynewichUltimately, she decided that the time requirement and uncertainty of professional golf was too much, and she focused on broadcasting.

Her initial job was working for what is now Amalie Arena in Tampa, covering the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL and the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League.

That gave way to an internship with the LPGA Tour, which turned into a full-time job as a content producer and host, which she did for almost three years.

She estimates that during her time at the LPGA, her work was “30 percent on camera and 70 percent off camera.” Wanting more on-camera experience, she took a job as a sports reporter and weekend sports anchor at WJTV-12 in Jackson, Miss., where she learned a variety of skills necessary to put together a broadcast and covered SEC football and basketball.

Three weeks after she moved to Mississippi, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and she was quarantined in a city where she knew nobody.

Hrynewich describes her time as a small-town, Southern TV reporter as a “humbling grind” of shooting her own footage and even doing a live report from outside of the Alabama at Ole Miss football game during a tropical storm.

During this time, she made it a goal to work for an NHL team. After several near-misses, she landed a job with the New York Islanders as a team reporter and studio host, and in November of last year, she was off to Long Island.

“I went from one of the least-populated states in the country to one of the most populated – from Southern to big city,” Hrynewich said with a laugh. “But it was fun, and it was time.”

Just a couple of months into her gig with the Islanders, Hailey received a dream-come-true opportunity and set the stage for a crazy 2022 (which is only at the halfway point).

Olympics, PGA and beyond

The call came from Molly Solomon, who Hrynewich got to know when she was working for the LPGA Tour, and was now NBC’s Executive Producer for the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China, which started Feb. 4.

Basically, one week before the Games, one of the reporters dropped out, so Solomon asked Hrynewich if she would step in.

Hailey Hrynewich“Of course, I said yes,” said Hrynewich, who was granted a leave of absence by the Islanders to go to Beijing. “Then I stressed myself out getting over there and studying everything I possibly could about sports I knew nothing about.”

She was assigned as NBC’s on-site reporter for four sports – moguls, aerials, ski cross and snowboard cross – and, as fate would have it, she covered one of the most compelling stories of the entire Games. Hrynewich drew praise for her handling of an emotional interview with Nick Baumgartner of Iron River, who failed to make the finals in snowboard cross in his fifth Olympic Games. Then she was there two days later when he redeemed himself with a gold medal in the team competition.

“It was raw emotion,” Hrynewich recalled. “He went from low to high, but I had to stay in the middle. I will never forget that interview.”

Both of those clips, along with many other highlights of her young career, are featured on her web site – haileyhunter.com.

Since the Olympics, Hrynewich has been pin-balling all over North America. She covered track & field for NBC Sports, then did the ACC Track & Field Championships for the ACC Network, the U.S. Women’s Open for the USGA and the Canadian Open for The Golf Channel.

She is momentarily catching her breath at home in Jackson, Miss., and is looking forward to coming back to Muskegon to see family and friends for the Fourth of July.

But she doesn’t expect to be sitting still for too long, with several more exciting projects in the hopper.

“I can’t believe everything I’ve done already this year,” Hailey said. “I’m really thankful and blessed and can’t wait to see what’s around the corner. Golf has opened up so many doors for me.”

PHOTOS (Top) From left, Mona Shores' Hailey Hrynewich watches a drive during the 2012 MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final, and at right Hrynewich hosts during a PGA event. (2) Hrynewich skates as a child. (3) Hrynewich poses with the leaderboard after her team collects the 2021 championship trophy. (4) On set with the Islanders, Hrynewich provides her knowledge as a team reporter and studio host. (Photos provided by Hailey Hrynewich.)

Rochester Adams, East Kentwood's Fennell Claim Finals Wins by Narrowest of Margins

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

October 21, 2023

EAST LANSING – Conditions were chilly and rainy, but the down-to-the-wire drama at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Girls Golf Final was enough to warm up anyone with adrenaline. 

And this was true both from a team and individual medalist perspective at Forest Akers West. 

In the team portion, it became apparent on the back nine that the championship was a two-team race between 2022 champion Rochester Adams and No. 1-ranked Brighton. 

Back-and-forth the teams went until they were tied going into the last hole. 

From there, it was Adams which did just enough to squeak by, pulling out a one-shot win with a final score of 669 to repeat as champion. Had the teams tied, Brighton would have won with the fifth-score tiebreaker. 

The next closest score behind Brighton’s 670 was produced by Plymouth, which took third with a 683.

Rockford (693) and Rochester (695) rounded out the top five. 

Plymouth was in first with a seven-shot lead over Adams and an 11-shot lead over Brighton after the first round. But while Adams was 15 shots better and Brighton 22 shots better in the second round, Plymouth was 13 shots worse. 

“The last 10 holes were up and down and back and forth,” Adams head coach Jeff Kutschman said. “I think it was the girls just sticking to their game. Just fighting all the way to the end and fighting for every stroke.”

Rochester Adams celebrates its repeat Finals championship.The Highlanders were led by senior Laura Liu, who shot a pair of 75s to tie for fourth individually with a final score of 150.

Senior Katie Fodale shot a 158 (82-76) to tie for eighth with Brighton senior Abbie Pietila.

The repeat crown capped off a season that saw Adams struggle during the first couple of months but come on in the end when it counted most.

Adams performed better to win its Regional at Twin Lakes and entered the Final healthier than it had been all season, especially since Fodale didn’t hit a golf ball for months until roughly two weeks before the season started after suffering a shoulder injury. 

“She got a lot better throughout the season,” Kutschman said. “Peyton Sage, our No. 5, played great down the stretch and helped us win the league and the Regional. They all just did what they needed to do today and yesterday. I think experience helps a lot.”

Brighton finished runner-up to Adams for a second-straight year, although this one was a lot more crushing than finishing 47 shots behind the Highlanders last fall.

In addition to Pietila’s performance, Brighton was led by senior Madison Martens, who shot a 74 in the second round after shooting an 86 in the first.

“It’s golf,” Brighton head coach Paul Parsell said. “A lot of times it can go your way, and this day it didn’t go our way. I’m super proud of all the girls that battled hard. Starting out in fifth place and getting it down to the last putt.” 

The individual title also came down to the last hole and putt.

East Kentwood senior Elise Fennell ended up claiming the crown by one shot over Byron Center senior Macie Elzinga and Rockford senior Jessica Jolly, shooting a pair of 70s for a final total of 140. 

Fennell’s last hole was the third hole on the course, a par 4, and said she was fully aware of what was going on and what she needed to do.

“I was watching scores, and I wanted to know,” Fennell said. “I figured par or birdie (would win).”

Headed to college golf for Illinois State, Fennell won the title this year by a stroke after finishing one shot behind Kate Brody of Grand Blanc last year.

“It feels amazing,” Fennell said. “It’s kind of been bothering me all year wanting to get it done.”

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PHOTOS (Top) East Kentwood's Elise Fennell lines up a putt during the LP Division 1 Final. (Middle) Rochester Adams celebrates its repeat Finals championship. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)