Preview: Next Wave of Champions
October 15, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
First-time champions are expected to dominate this weekend’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Girls Golf Finals.
East Kentwood, South Lyon, Spring Lake and Kalamazoo Hackett are ranked first in Divisions 1-4, respectively, by the Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association. None has won an MHSAA team title.
Three divisions are guaranteed to crown first-time individual champions as well; Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood’s Cordelia Chan is back seeking a repeat in Division 3, but last season’s winners in the other three divisions all graduated.
See below for some details behind the favored teams in each division, plus other individuals who could make runs this weekend. Click for qualifiers and Regional results from all four divisions and Finals results as they are reported.
LP DIVISION 1 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley
Top-ranked: 1. East Kentwood, 2. Lake Orion, 3. Farmington Hills Mercy
Five teams posted Regional scores of 340 or lower, including the three above and with No. 4 Dearborn posting the lowest of last week at 334 despite playing only four golfers. Plymouth is the reigning back-to-back champion and ranked No. 9 despite four of its top five returning from last season’s winner. Troy and Davison also took turns among the top three this fall, Troy in the top spot for two weeks before moving to No. 5.
East Kentwood: The Falcons are favored to win their first MHSAA team championship with their top four back from last season’s team that finished sixth but only three strokes out of fourth place. Senior Sarah White and junior Mackenzie Keenoy finished first and second, respectively, at the Regional at Blythefield Country Club. White tied for sixth individually at last season’s LP Division 1 Final and also as a sophomore, and was Division 1 runner-up as a freshman individual qualifier.
Lake Orion: The Dragons own one MHSAA team title, from the 2007 spring season, and all five starters this weekend played on last season’s 10th-place finisher. Balance is a strength – juniors Lauren Danielson and Megan Miller were the team's highest Regional placers at Lapeer Country Club, tying for third, but two teammates tied for seventh and all five golfers shot 84-90 as Lake Orion won by 17 strokes.
Farmington Hills Mercy: The 2012 runner-up is seeking its first team title since 2001 after not qualifying for the Finals last season. Senior Erica Heath – a member of that 2012 lineup – did play at the 2013 Final as an individual qualifier and leads a team that stormed back into the final weekend with a 335 to win the Regional at Dunham Hills Golf Course. She and junior Julia Shaw tied for second at the Regional, while all five Mercy players shot 82-88 and finished among the top 12.
Other individuals of note: Last season’s Final runner-up Dearborn senior Elayna Bowser shot a 74 to win the Regional at Sanctuary Lake as her team posted that Division 1-best team score. Plymouth senior Sydney Murphy returns as the reigning champ’s top player after finishing ninth individually last season, and junior Samantha Kellstrom leads Saline after finishing 10th a year ago. Traverse City Central senior Amelia Pezzetti finished fourth in Division 2 in 2013. A handful of others broke 80 at their Regionals; senior Madison Renko with a 78 to follow teammate Bowser for Dearborn, Troy juniors Jennifer Cui (75) and Naomi Kim (79), Ann Arbor Skyline sophomore Jami Laude (79) and Brighton senior Jennica Long (79).
LP DIVISION 2 at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers West
Top-ranked: 1. South Lyon, 2. Midland Dow, 3. Birmingham Seaholm.
Seaholm won its third title in nine seasons in 2013, by a stroke over Okemos. With the Chieftains graduating individual champion Elle Nichols in the spring, last season’s third-place Dow and fourth-place South Lyon are expected to move up in the standings and challenge the Maples while both seeking their first MHSAA team championships.
South Lyon: Three starters return from last season’s fourth-place team, including senior Caroline Harding, who tied for eighth individually. She’s one of three sisters among the team’s top five; freshman Elizabeth carded the team’s low score of 83 to win the Regional at Pine View Golf Course, while Caroline was tied for second and junior Priscilla Harding tied with senior teammate Alex Bernas for fourth place overall.
Dow: The Chargers posted the low Regional score in Division 2, best by six strokes, and are keyed by sisters Stephanie and Alexis Carras, after Stephanie finished third at last season’s Final and teamed with now-graduated older sister Kharissa to lead Dow to a third-place team finish. Senior Madison Bowen, junior Alexie Flaminio and sophomore Caroline Szabo also rounded out last season’s lineup, and all five players finished among the top eight at the Regional at Flint Elks Golf Club – Stephanie Carras winning with a 76.
Seaholm: Senior Jamie Greene and juniors Allegra Cunningham and Jordan Michalak also scored at last season’s Final, with Greene tying for eighth among individuals and Cunningham and Michalak both finishing just a stroke outside the top 10. The Maples won their Regional at Edgewood Country Club by 23 strokes, with Michalak finishing first, Cunningham second and Greene fourth.
Other individuals of note: Okemos junior Jessica Kim was the team’s second-lowest scorer at the 2013 Final, where she finished sixth overall. A number of others who played at last season’s Final impressed at Regionals and should contend for a top-10 spot; among a few to consider are Flushing junior Brooke Thomas, Detroit Renaissance junior Nia Little, St. Joseph senior Hannah Grall, Auburn Hills Avondale senior Mackenzie Blomberg and Muskegon Mona Shores senior Rylee George. George was a sophomore on Mona Shores’ 2012 championship team.
LP DIVISION 3 at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers East
Top-ranked: 1. Spring Lake, 2. Detroit Country Day, 3. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood.
Country Day won its first MHSAA girls golf championship in 2013 on a tie-breaker ahead of Cranbrook-Kingswood, which finished runner-up for the second straight season and last won a team title in 2006. But expected to finish ahead of both is Spring Lake, which is seeking its first MHSAA championship but finished third in 2013. Many will be rooting on Grand Rapids South Christian, which posted the third-lowest LP Division 3 Regional score (357) a day after the unexpected death of coach Rod VanDyke (click for more from the Grand Rapids Press). And last season’s Division 4 champion, Grosse Ile, is in Division 3 this weekend with three starters from last season’s title winner.
Spring Lake: The Lakers return four of their five from last season’s Final; sophomore Anna Kramer finished fourth individually in her first MHSAA championship tournament, and senior Ginnie Olszewski was three strokes shy of the top 10. Spring Lake dominated its Regional at Katke Golf Course, finishing 29 strokes ahead of the field with Kramer taking individual honors with a 77. All five players finished among the top 10.
Country Day: The Yellowjackets return three of last season’s top five, and senior Nicole Junn finished three strokes outside the top 10 individuals last season. Country Day finished ahead of No. 9 Warren Regina but second and just a stroke behind Cranbrook-Kingswood at their Regional at The Emerald. Junn was third at the Regional, leading four players who finished among the top seven places while all shooting 87-92.
Cranbrook-Kingswood: Three of the Cranes’ top five from last season also are back, led by individual champion Chan, who added last week’s Regional title to her achievements by shooting a 79. Junior Molly Wiener and senior Gabby Shuert also started at last season’s Final and finished ninth and 10th, respectively, at the Emerald as all five Cranbrook-Kingswood players scored among the top 20.
Other individuals of note: In addition to Chan and Kramer, three more from last season’s Final top 10 will play this weekend – Ada Forest Hills Eastern senior Henna Singh (tied for sixth in 2013), Lake Odessa Lakewood junior Emily Barker (ninth) and Wayland junior Ali Martus (tied for 10th). Carleton Airport sophomore Olivia Reed missed the top 10 last season by two strokes but last week shot an 82 to win the Regional at West Shore Country Club. Regina junior Lucy Cornwell shot an 81 to finish second to Chan at The Emerald.
LP DIVISION 4 at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University
Top-ranked: 1. Kalamazoo Hackett, 2. Macomb Lutheran North, 3. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian.
Division 4 was added in the Lower Peninsula six seasons ago, and Grosse Ile and Lansing Catholic have combined to win the first five titles – but neither will be playing at this tournament this weekend. NorthPointe Christian was the runner-up a year ago, finishing two strokes back of Grosse Ile, while Hackett was fifth after finishing second in 2012. No. 6 Flint Powers Catholic and unranked Jackson Lumen Christi are the only teams in the field that have won MHSAA titles in any division or class of girls golf. No. 4 Harbor Springs shot a Division 4-low Regional score of 352, and No. 5 Grand Rapids West Catholic also was impressive at 366.
Hackett: The Fighting Irish return five starters from last season’s Final, where now-junior Lizzie Stull tied for seventh individually. Senior Carrie Radomsky also was on the 2012 team that finished third. Stull finished second at the Regional at Silver Lake Country Club with a 79, and junior Rebecca Radomsky was sixth as all five Hackett players finished among the top 13 places and the team edged No. 5 West Catholic and No. 3 NorthPointe Christian.
Lutheran North: Four of its Regional starters last week helped last year’s Mustangs to an eighth-place finish, and all five finished among the top nine at the Stoney Creek Golf Course Regional. Senior Katie Humphreys was first, sophomore Sydney Martens was second and freshman Serena Nguyen came in third as the team won by 29 strokes.
NorthPointe Christian: Last season’s Final individual runner-up Monica Koert graduated, but NorthPointe is back with three of the golfers who filled last season’s lineup behind her, led by senior Molly Antor – who won the Silver Lake individual championship with a 73. Senior Allison Starr was third at the Regional, and with junior Jessica Zylstra also bring last season’s championship tournament experience to this lineup.
Other individuals of note: Four more of last season’s individual top 10 also will play, topped by 2013 third-placer Nichole Cox (77); the Maple City Glen Lake sophomore last week won the Regional at Mistwood. Farwell senior Bria Colosky was second at that Regional (80) and tied for 10th at last season’s Final, as did Hillsdale Academy junior Madi Reed, the Regional champion last week at Calderone Golf Club. Frankenmuth sophomore Meg Watkins (87) won the Regional at Twin Brooks Golf Course after two playoff holes and coming off a sixth-place Final finish in 2013; she defeated Freeland Tori Argyle in the playoff. Harbor Springs’ Regional-best team score was keyed by an 81 by senior Abbey Detmar, who finished third individually at Mistwood and was her team's second-lowest shooter last season when the Rams finished sixth at the Final.
PHOTO: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood’s Cordelia Chan attempts to sink a putt on the way to winning last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 3 individual championship.
East Jackson Off to Record-Setting Start
By
Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
August 25, 2017
By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
JACKSON –The East Jackson girls golf team is riding an impressive three-tournament streak. And the Trojans have yet to win a title.
In each of East Jackson’s three tournaments this season, it has broken the 18-hole school record, which was 397 coming into the season. Then, the Trojans sliced it to 376, and earlier this week, they shot 364 – a full 33 strokes better than the all-time best coming into the season.
Coach Ray Hill doesn’t pretend to say he knew this was going to happen.
“I really am stunned at what they have accomplished this year,” he said. “All of them worked really hard this summer and played in youth tournaments, and frankly, they didn’t play well. All summer I’ve been trying to calm them down and tell them not to worry if they are shooting 115 in June or 108 in July. That’s not important. We’re focused on the fall.
“I wasn’t sure I was buying it, but I had to convince them, and once the season started, the light turned on and they’ve been getting great scores. All the work they did in the summer paid off.”
Along the way, East Jackson had four girls each break 100 in the same event for the first time in school history. Coach Hill, in his 12th season, already has tabbed this as his best team, but he didn’t expect this much improvement this quickly.
“Before the first tournament, the Northwest coach texted all the coaches coming to the tournament and said all the teams were going to be grouped together and wanted to know what score we anticipated shooting. I said 400, and we shot 392,” Hill said. “The other coaches were giving me a little bit of grief, calling me a sandbagger.”
Tootsie Pops and cookies
At East Jackson, finding girls to play on the golf team takes a little work. There is no feeder program, unless you count Coach Hill handing out Tootsie Pops and cookies to any middle schooler willing to hear about the wonders of playing golf.
“I make a point to talk to every middle school girl in our building at some point,” Hill said. “When I’m asked during a school day to sub for the French teacher, I will spend a few minutes talking about golf.
“I have a meeting every year, and I bring Tootsie Pops and cookies to get them to come to the meeting, and it’s kind of hit and miss. I will hand out Tootsie Pops in the hallways if someone will consider golf. “
Hill gets a lot of disinterested or confused responses. Most of them have never played golf in their lives and plan to try out for the volleyball team. Hill has a ready answer for them.
“They say, ‘I’ve never played before,’ and I say, ‘You’ve never been taught before, and once you’re taught, it comes along,’” Hill said. “The first year you just learn how to hold the golf club and hit a shot here and there, and the second year you’re ready to take off.”
This season, East Jackson has four freshmen on the team, one season after having three freshmen – so the Tootsie Pops and cookies must be hits. But in the end, the game of golf is the selling point.
“If I can get them out to the golf course a time or two, I can usually keep them,” said Hill, who also tells the girls and their parents what they can expect from being an East Jackson golfer.
“One, it has to be fun, and I try to keep things loose,” Hill said. “I buy a lot of ice cream, we have snacks, and we make it fun and keep things light and loose. Number two, they are going to improve. They’re going to get better throughout the season. Every time they come to the golf course, they’re going to be better than they were the day before. It’s not fun to do a sport or anything in life if you’re not getting better.
“Three, I want them to be competitive. It’s a lot more fun if you have a chance to win events, if you have a chance to compete for a league championship, so I want them to get to a point where they are competitive. They are going to work harder if they have a chance to win. And four, as a parent, a teacher and a coach, I think it is important that a kid achieves excellence in something, and for each kid it’s going to be a little bit different.”
Learning the game
While Hill likely would like to bring more experienced girls into his program, he sees a positive side to their relative inexperience.
“I don’t have to unteach everything that Uncle Larry taught them, and as beginners, they are open to instruction,” he said. “They want to get better. I look for athletic kids who are smart.”
Sophomore Alexis Brzezinski has been the No. 1 player so far. She is averaging 88.6 for 18 holes and earlier this week she broke the school record with an 84. She had virtually no experience as an eighth-grader – just two years ago.
“I started playing right before my freshman year,” said Brzezinski, who earned honorable mention on the all-conference team last year. “I got into a lot of junior clinics with Mr. Hill before that and then I took a lesson. I started getting into it when I started getting better.
“I realized that golf is a really hard sport. I didn’t know what I was getting into. I had played volleyball before. It’s a really challenging game, and you are always batting yourself and you’re never satisfied with your score. There is always something you can do better. I love that about it.”
Zoe Swiatlowski, a two-time all-Cascades Conference selection, is one of three seniors on the team, and she is averaging 94.0 for 18 holes. She joined the golf team as a freshman basically because her older sister Savannah was a senior on the team.
“I really wanted to play volleyball instead,” she said. “I got talked into it, and then I ended up loving it. I thought golf was so boring and dumb. I realized there was a lot more to it. I thought that it was probably just really easy, and it was something you do when you’re bored, but it’s really competitive. It’s a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be.”
One of the things she likes best is the ability to get to know opposing golfers.
“You get to meet a lot of new people,” she said. “It’s not like basketball where you just see them for a half a second and they are running away. You can talk to them for like five hours at a time.”
And then there is senior Alessandra Mireles, a senior who was all-conference as a sophomore but missed half of last season after being in a serious car accident. She is playing with a metal rod in her leg. She is averaging 102, and Hill said “her swing is regaining form” as she continues to recover.
Mireles went out for golf, not so much because of the Tootsie Pops, but because she had a good friend who was on the team.
“She really wanted me to play golf,” Mireles said. “I was like, ‘I might as well try something new.’ It was an acquired taste. Not a lot of girls our age play golf, so I didn’t know if it was for me, and I was trying to play volleyball at the same time, so I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.
“Now, I just love my teammates; that’s what makes me want to play. And wherever you go, any golf course, they’re so nice. It’s the environment that I like to be in. I would like to play in college, too, but either way, I’m still going to play golf.”
While those three girls have the top averages on the team this season, East Jackson’s depth is helped by Sami Andrus, Reagan Rudd and Jordan Goostrey.
Future goals
Hill is a realist. He knows the Trojans are not going to break the school record every time out this season, but the girls aren’t as convinced.
“I told them we have to be content with having a blip here or there, and the girls wouldn’t hear of it,” he said. “They all talked about leaving four or five shots on the course, and they felt like they could do better. I see it, I absolutely see it, but I don’t expect it to happen every time.”
While confidence is soaring, a major obstacle keeps the Trojans grounded. It is perennial power Jackson Lumen Christi – the team that finished first in each of the three tournaments this season in which East Jackson set a school record.
The Trojans are very aware of Lumen Christi and that program’s success.
“Lumen Christi has an excellent team and has an excellent program, and they establish a standard in the area and everybody aims for them,” Hill said. “Over the years, our kids have been intimidated by the Lumen Christi aura, and this year, all of my girls have played in summer tournaments with them and they know the Lumen girls.
“They don’t have that intimidation factor, and the Lumen girls are a nice group of girls. Still, we’re gunning for them. I don’t think we have the scores yet to get them, but we’re getting closer.”
The Trojans do not shy away from the topic of Lumen Christi. It is obvious the respect is there.
“It doesn’t make us cocky,” Swiatlowski said of having Lumen Christi in the same area. “It might be overwhelming that we are doing so good, but they kind of knock us down. Even when they have a bad round, someone else steps up, just like we do as a team, but they’re just a little bit better. It helps us work harder.”
East Jackson understands it is all a process.
“We’re used to fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth-place finishes, so second place to one of the top programs in the state is quite an accomplishment,” Hill said. “We’re very proud of that.
“The girls look at all the schools they have beaten and some of them are two or three times larger than we are. They are real excited and proud of that, and we’re trying to maintain it throughout the years.”
Hill concedes that his realistic team goals for this year already have been rewritten because of the excellent start.
“We finished fifth in the Regional, and the top three go to the state meet,” he said. “We’ve never really come close to going to the state meet as a team. I’ve been able to take five girls individually to the state meet over the years. These girls want to go, and if they can sustain the scores they are shooting right now, we’ll be in good shape.
“Qualifying for the state meet as a team would be huge, but Lumen Christi is at our region and Napoleon is in our region, but three teams go, and we feel like we’re in position to do it.”
Along the way, Hill takes pride in seeing the girls learn to play the game of golf and learn to love it.
“I’ve had five girls who had never played golf before their freshman year at East Jackson go on and play in college,” he said. “That’s huge. One of them is an assistant coach now at Siena Heights University, and the opportunity started here. That’s the most rewarding part for me.”
Chip Mundy served as sports editor at the Brooklyn Exponent and Albion Recorder from 1980-86, and then as a reporter and later copy editor at the Jackson Citizen-Patriot from 1986-2011. He also co-authored Michigan Sports Trivia. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) East Jackson's Zoe Swiatlowski watches a drive during an event this fall. (Middle top) The East Jackson team poses with one of its two tournament runner-up plaques earned this month. (Middle below) Alexis Brzezinski fires from a sand trap during one of her rounds. (Below) Alessandra Mireles watches her approach from the fairway (Photos courtesy of Ray Hill.)