Lansing Catholic Finishes Title Climb, Greenhills' Melendez Joins Elite Few
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
October 21, 2023
BATTLE CREEK — While clutching the championship trophy that had eluded her during her first three high school golf seasons, Lansing Catholic’s Sophie Hauser was open to suggestions on how to celebrate.
What if, it was suggested, each member of the Cougars got to have the trophy in their possession for a day, like NHL hockey players whose team wins the Stanley Cup?
“I like that idea,” she said, her smile getting even brighter.
If that’s the case, the Cougars’ MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 championship trophy will be out of sight for a while.
The reason: Lansing Catholic has 20 golfers on its roster, all competing for playing spots.
“We have 16 players who want to compete,” Cougars coach Kim Johnson said. “From freshmen to seniors. It keeps everyone sharp when you have 20 people competing, and it’s a team thing because the younger ones are pushing the older ones because if they don't (compete), they’re going to lose their spot, and it’s worked out well.”
It was the Cougars’ first title since 2010, which was the last of three consecutive titles won by the Cougars at that time. They finished third last year after second-place finishes the previous two seasons.
Lansing Catholic got off to a blazing start, ending Friday’s first round with a 15-stroke lead and adding to it Saturday, finishing with a 705 score that was 24 strokes better than second-place Kalamazoo Christian.
“We got out front early and stayed out,” Johnson said. “Everyone knew that we were 15 strokes up, and we knew we had to keep the pedal on the metal because there were all these great teams behind us. We didn’t want to lose it, so we knew we had to keep working hard.”
The Cougars came out Saturday determined not to let the moment, or the weather, get to them.
Hauser led Lansing Catholic by shooting 74 on Saturday and 150 for the weekend, both personal bests.
“I struggled on the front nine,” she said, “but I pulled it together on the back nine, and I thought to myself that I have to play my game and not think about anyone else.”
Johnson said assistant Mary Fineis plays a key role in the Cougars’ mental approach.
“She works on skills with them, and she helps them keep their minds sharp,” Johnson said.
Mia Melendez of Ann Arbor Greenhills became the seventh girl in state history to three-peat as a Finals individual champion, firing a 69 to edge Brooklyn Columbia Central’s Logan Bentley by two strokes.
“I made a lot of pars and three great birdies,” she said. “It was a really steady round overall.”
Melendez, a junior, hopes to make it four-for-four in state titles next year. That would make her the first to do so in the Lower Peninsula and first statewide since Paxton Johnson of Escanaba won four consecutive titles in UP Finals from 2016-19.
The weather was a factor both days, forcing the contestants off the course for a time Friday due to heavy rain. Saturday saw drizzle and occasional showers.
“Conditions were really tough for playing golf today,” Melendez said. “There was a lot of rain, the ground was wet, and it was super cold. But I’m glad I have some experience playing in tough weather.”
Meanwhile, Hauser and her teammate were savoring their team title.
“I don't think it’s really hit me yet,” said Hauser, who finished third overall as an individual. “It feels like a dream. And it’s finally come true.”
PHOTOS (Top) Lansing Catholic celebrates its first Finals team championship since 2010 on Saturday. (Middle) Ann Arbor Greenhills’ Mia Melendez sends an approach on the way to winning her third individual championship. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Mercy Takes 3rd Team Title, Byron Center Wins 1st Individual Championship
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
October 15, 2022
EAST LANSING -- Finally, Farmington Hills Mercy girls golf coach Vicky Kowalski can talk a little less about the history of her program.
It’s certainly a rich history since Mercy won two state championships and finished as a Finals runner-up between 1999 and 2002, but in her 45th year of coaching this fall, it was getting a little harder to resonate with her current group that wasn’t even born then.
“The game has changed so much now,” Kowalski said. “If you go back and look at the scores that were shot back then when we won, we had to go a lot lower than that these two days to get the victory.”
But Mercy did just that, and now the current group has its own history to bask in.
For the first time since 2001, Mercy is a Finals champion in girls golf, winning the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 title at Forest Akers West with a two-day score of 684.
“To finally get that third state title is just a great feeling,” Kowalski said.
The Marlins took a 10-stroke lead with a first-round total of 343, and followed that by going two shots lower for a second-day score of 341.
Leading the way for Mercy was sophomore Maeve Casey, who finished fourth with a two-day score of 159 (79-80).
Senior Chloe Vig was ninth at 166, sophomore Lila Polakowski was 16th with a 178, while junior Abby Slankster was 20th at 181 for a Mercy team that returned its entire lineup from a squad that finished fourth in 2021.
Still, Kowalski knew it would be a task to outlast South Lyon, which was seeking its second title in two years.
“We spent all year chasing South Lyon,” she said. “We beat them once in one tournament. I guess these two days were the days to do it again.”
South Lyon did manage to finish runner-up with a final score of 711 thanks in large part to senior Gabby Tapp, who was second individually with a 153.
“We just didn’t play as well as we could’ve, and Mercy played well,” South Lyon head coach Dan Skatzka said. “It’s just one of those things. It’s the way golf is.”
Individually, Byron Center junior Macie Elzinga made history by becoming the first girl in her school's history to win a golf Finals title.
Elzinga entered Saturday with a one-shot lead over Tapp after a first-day round of 72, and followed that up with a 76 on a chilly and windy day to finish at 148, five shots ahead of Tapp, who won the championship in 2021 and 2019.
“It’s just kind of a surreal feeling,” Elzinga said. “I’m just very honored to be able to represent my school.”
Elzinga was familiar with the course given she’s played it plenty of times over the summer and during high school season, so it was a matter of hanging in mentally.
“It was a battle,” Elzinga said. “The wind was really tough. There were times where you thought it was a one-club wind, and it was a three-club wind. It was really hard to judge. Given the conditions, it was a lot harder to get the ball close on the green. Lag putting was huge. I was really thankful to have lag-putted really good. I didn’t have many three putts on the card.”
Haslett senior Sydney Dausman finished in third behind Elzinga and Tapp with a score of 157.
PHOTOS (Top) Forest Akers West at MSU hosted the MHSAA L.P. Division 2 Girls Golf Finals. (Middle) Team champion Farmington Hills Mercy. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)