Huskies Finish Strong to Reign Again
October 19, 2019
By Tom Lang
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – This threepeat was very sweet.
Carrying the heavy load of a No. 1 ranking all season after two consecutive years winning the Lower Peninsula Division 2 title, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern pulled away during the second round Saturday to secure its third consecutive MHSAA Finals championship at Forest Akers East on the campus of Michigan State.
Northern led South Lyon by only two strokes going into the final round (337-339) – an insignificant margin in team golf, which tabulates four individual scores. The past two years Northern had much larger cushions over the competition.
But Northern broke away to win this third title with a team total 337-311-648.
“We talked a lot about that before the second round,” coach Kent Graves said about having no room for error. “In years past we haven’t had to do that; we just had to get through it. Today we really had to focus, and they did, and it was a big win for us.
“I just love the kids. I’m just so proud of them. Not the fact that they won three in a row, but just that grit that they had coming back ... to focus and crush it today. I’m very proud of them.”
Northern was led by Lilia Henkel at 78-75-153, Anna Fay at 82-75-157, Ava Frost with 88-77-165 and Rylee Walters at 89-84-173 as all four scored better in round two.
Henkel tied for second individually with Emlin Munch of Traverse City Central, while Fay placed fourth overall.
“For us, I think being here three times was the difference” Graves said about the difference between the first and second rounds. “All five of our girls played in the final last year. You just can’t discount experience. To know where you’re at and know what you’ve got to do on the second day. I think they just went out and did it.”
Gabriella Tapp, a freshman from South Lyon, was not on most people’s radars, yet played two consecutive rounds of 75-75 to win the medalist title. She led by one stroke after the first round over teammate Katherine Potter, who finished 76-83-159 for fifth place individually as the pair powered the Lions to a team runner-up finish. South Lyon (674) was ranked No. 5 coming into the weekend.
“That’s a quality team. There’s some good players there,” Graves said.
Taking third place was Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central with a team total 711. Farmington Hills Mercy took fourth at 730, while Birmingham Groves and Fenton rounded out the top five teams, both finishing with 732.
Graves said Northern’s third consecutive title was due to a complete team effort – especially being under the microscope all season.
“They’ve got pretty good heads on their shoulders. My top two players – Lilia and Anna – play golf 12 months of the year. They play in a lot of big tournaments. The ones I’m really proud of, and I say this every year, you really don’t win this thing with just your No. 1 and No. 2; everybody has a good one and two. It’s players like Ava Frost that came back and shot a 77 today at our three spot. Rylee and Bailee Walters, our twins, came back at 84 and 87 today. That’s where you win it, at those three and four scores.”
So, could there be a fourth consecutive championship in Northern’s future?
Henkel and Fay return, with three juniors who are waiting their turns.
“These three girls have been out here for two days with us, walking the course and they know what it takes, and they definitely want to be a part of this next year,” Graves said. “And I’ll tell you what; they’re pretty good players. They’d be in the top three for almost every team in our conference.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Forest Hills Northern’s Ava Frost putts during Friday’s first round of the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final. (Middle) South Lyon’s Gabriella Tapp pops a chip toward the green. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Medalist Scott Leads Escanaba Charge Back to Top of UPD1 Leaderboard
By
Jack Hall
Special for MHSAA.com
May 29, 2024
CHAMPION – Escanaba is back on top in high school girls golf after winning the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1 championship Wednesday at the Wawonowin Country Club.
The Eskymos won their fifth Finals title since 2016 by defeating last year's champion, Kingsford, by 22 strokes (399-421). Negaunee was third, 23 strokes back (422).
“It's been an up-and-down season,” Escanaba coach Jake Berlinski said. “It's a short season. The girls have worked so hard and in the end of it, we came through. The girls played great when it mattered the most. That's all you can ask for.”
Escanaba was led by sophomore Kamrie Scott, who won the medalist honor by shooting an 83. She was eight shots clear of runners-up Grace Maki (Kingsford) and Abby Dart (Houghton), who both carded 91s.
“This course, there are some holes that are tough, but I think I played it pretty well,” Scott said. “I was hitting them straight, and my putting was good, so things were going well. I was just going for the pin today. I was making putts, so it was working.”
Maki battled over the final four holes to earn a share of the runner-up honor for the Flivvers, and for herself, personally.
“I love this course,” Maki said. “I had some struggles. I had some 6s out there, but I did my best. My best hole was actually No. 2, which I birdied.”
Negaunee's Kennidy Glasheen and Marquette's Abby Luke finished tied for fourth, both with 96s. It was the last U.P. Finals for Luke, who made an impression with a hole-in-one at the 2023 championship tournament held on the ultra-tough Sage Run Golf Course.
The only other sub-100 score this time around was turned in by Escanaba senior Maddie Wilson, who carded a 97 to finish in the sixth spot. It was her fourth UP Finals, and by far her highest finish on the leaderboard.
“It feels good, but it's a little bit sad,” Wilson said. “I'm glad we were able to pull away for our last year. Personally, for me, I just tried to stay really positive, and not get myself down during a bad shot. And especially tried not to get tired toward the end, because walking 18 holes is a lot. And I really focused on my putting today, which I feel helped me in the long run.”
Kingsford came out of nowhere in 2023 to win its first girls golf U.P. title in school history, and this year the Flivvers rallied down the stretch to take second place ahead of Negaunee. The Miners occupied second spot for most of the round before the Flivvers ended up with the runner-up trophy by one stroke.
“We saw the course was playing tough, across the board; top to bottom, scores were a little higher than normal,” Kingsford coach Ryan Pepin said. “The girls battled right to the end. We weren't sure how it was going to finish up. We're really proud of them. Great season.”
Pepin had just four golfers this year (three seniors and one sophomore), but they still managed to win the majority of their matches in the Great Northern Conference during the regular season.
“Our girls performed well,” Pepin said. “We went to battle every time with only four. Our seniors had great careers, the last two years, especially.”
Negaunee coach Dustin Hongisto said it was a great day for his group of Miners.
“I felt they played awesome,” Hongisto said. “They were just kind of a step back from these (top) teams all year, but all five of them played awesome today. I was really proud of my No. 1 girl, Kennidy. She shot her low round of the year. The fact that they lost by one at the end was a bummer, but I'm proud of them.”
Scott says it felt great to win the individual medalist honor, but she was even happier that the whole Escanaba team pulled through.
“I'm really proud of us,” she said. “We worked really hard this year, and it paid off. Just staying positive, and I think that helped us.”
Fellow Eskymos senior Sophia Derkos, playing in her fourth U.P. Final, summed it up.
“We work really good as a team,” she said. “We're very positive toward each other. There's a lot of hazards on this course, like waters and trees. I was just trying not to hit 'em in it, and it was hard, but we made it!
PHOTOS (Top) Escanaba’s Lilly VanDamme lines up a putt during the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Final at Wawonowin Country Club. (Middle) Kingsford’s Ela Rizzo sends an approach shot during her round Wednesday. (Photos by Jack Hall.)