Negaunee's Niskanen, Escanaba Pull Through to Celebrate Close Victories
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 1, 2022
HARRIS — It took all 18 holes to determine an individual champion at the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Girls Golf Final here Wednesday.
Negaunee junior Rachel Niskanen came through with a 25-foot birdie putt on the No. 18 hole, becoming medalist for the first time with 82 strokes.
Menominee senior Madison Derusha, who narrowly missed an eagle putt on the last hole, settled for birdie and the runner-up honor at 83 on a sunny and mild day at Sweetgrass Golf Club.
“I started with par on the back nine, then I double-bogeyed the next three holes,” said Niskanen, who led by six strokes at one point on the back nine. “Both of us had bogeys. She was five down going into 11. It was really intense. I just tried to take it one stroke at a time and reminded myself that I couldn’t change the past. I just had to focus on the future.”
Escanaba was crowned team champion for the first time in four years with a 411. The Eskymos were followed by Negaunee at 417, Marquette at 422, Ishpeming Westwood with 431 and two-time reigning champion Menominee at 440.
“The girls really came through,” said Escanaba assistant coach Jake Berlinski. “Last year they were playing for the first time. This year was a little bit different. The girls made it a sport they really cared about.
“We ask a lot of these girls. They miss a lot of school, which is stressful for them. We’ve been asking them to miss two days a week for the last five weeks.”
Derusha, who plans to play golf at Michigan State University, said it was kind of a bittersweet ending to her high school career.
“It would have been nice to get the eagle, but it was still nice to get a birdie on my last high school hole,” she added. “Both of us were as nervous as could be. I have to stay as positive as I can and be proud of the way I finished.
“I will be doing club golf in my first year (at MSU), then I’ll play varsity golf as a sophomore. It will be a big learning curve.”
Westwood senior Jillian Koski, who sank a hole-in-one on No. 12 during Tuesday’s practice round, placed third with at 89 on Wednesday.
“On the front nine I had a 40,” said Koski, who will also attend MSU this fall to major in business management. “My putting was going real well, then they weren’t falling anymore on the back nine. I was nervous. I wanted to do as well as I did on the front nine.”
Escanaba junior Cierra Scott moved up two places from a year ago, taking fourth this time at 90. Iron Mountain’s Redeit Husing placed fifth with a 93.
“I’ve become more consistent with my long game,” said Scott. “My drives were pretty good today, but putting is something I need to work on. My putts weren’t very good. You’re never going to have a perfect round; you can come close, but it’s highly unlikely you’re going to get that perfect round.
“I wasn’t playing my best golf in the beginning of the season and was getting down on myself. Then, I kind of changed my mentality. Going into the season, winning the team title was top priority. Our team has improved so much.”
Berlinski often refers to Scott as “Captain.”
“Last year, we weren’t sure if we’d have a full team,” he said. “Cierra earned that name. She recruited some players and brought them along with her. She had some early-season struggles and shot scores that were uncharacteristic for her, but good players find a way to get through that stuff and Cierra played her best golf in the end.
“This is a nice feather in her hat for somebody who’s aspiring to be a college golfer. She’ll play somewhere. She’ll find a home.”
PHOTOS (Top) Negaunee's Rachel Niskanen tees off on No. 16 at Sweetgrass Golf Club during Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Division 1 Final. (Middle) The Escanaba girls golf team holds up its team championship trophy. From left: Sophia Derkos, Peyton Wellman, Annika Wangrud, Cierra Scott and Maddie Wilson. (Photos by Justin St. Ours.)
Plymouth Celebrates School's First Girls Title
October 20, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Kelsey Murphy knew Saturday afternoon who she’d call first after the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final – her grandmother Erma Murphy, who introduced her to golf when she was 12.
The Plymouth senior just wasn’t sure which bit of history-making news she would share first. She might start with how the top-ranked Wildcats won their first MHSAA girls team title. Or lead off with how she battled through wind and rain to edge Utica’s Taylor Clark by a stroke for the individual title.
Most likely, it was all going to come out in one long sentence. There's just so much good news to share.
Plymouth – after finishing third in 2011 and coming into this weekend ranked No. 1 – shot a two-round 659 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers East to edge runner-up Farmington Hills Mercy by 11 strokes. Murphy shot a two-day 148, matching Clark’s 75 on Saturday to maintain a one-stroke lead from Friday’s first round.
"I’m extremely proud of my team. We worked so hard this year to get to where we are today,” Murphy said. “It’s the first state championship in Plymouth’s history in any sport, so we’re extremely proud to represent our school this way.”
All five of Plymouth’s players shot 183 or better for the weekend, with senior Sarah Thompson firing a 166 to miss the individual top 10 by five strokes. And the latter statement is all the more impressive considering seven of last season’s 10 were back for this Final.
Murphy had birdies on Nos. 11 and 16 on Saturday. Clark, who improved from tied for sixth last season to finish second, just missed a close putt on the 18th green that would’ve forced a tie-breaker.
“I knew they were going to be close because Taylor is such a great player and so is Tenley (Shield, of Grosse Pointe South, who finished fifth). So I knew we were going to have a shootout today, and we all had to play our best to see who would come out on top,” Murphy said.
Utica as a team was four strokes better than Friday and shot a 672 to finish third.
“I’m proud of where I’ve come in the last four years. But most of all, I’m proud of my team for getting here,” said Clark, who played in Utica’s top spot every year of high school. “This is our best finish in the history of our school, so I think we represented our district and our school well. A top-three finish is great here.”
Plymouth enjoyed the same last season, but wanted more – especially after how the 2011 Final finished up.
The Wildcats were in second place after that first round, but fell to third by the end of the weekend. Murphy led individually with four holes to play, but also finished third.
They also had to adjust to a quick switch right before the start of this season, after coach Chris Moore resigned after taking an assistant principal job. Dan Young, a teacher with Moore at Pioneer Middle School in Canton, stepped right in. He hadn’t coached golf before, but has plenty of experience leading teams – he’s coached boys basketball at Westland John Glenn for two decades.
Plymouth shot a 331 on Friday to lead by seven, then carded a 328 to finish the run.
“You can’t replace that (2011) experience. Obviously, we fed off that,” Young said. “We tried to keep things in perspective, tried to stay within ourselves and do our job and lay it all out there. I thought we could come back and play better than (Friday), and I think the girls felt they could play better than (Friday). So that was the goal.
“That (2011) experience grounded us the whole year. It really did.”
Holt junior Pader Her shot two strokes better to finish third individually with a 152. Brighton senior Hannah Pietila shot five strokes better to move up to fourth.
PHOTO: Plymouth's Kelsey Murphy digs a shot out of the sand during Saturday's final round of the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)