Preview: One More Swing at History
October 17, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A year ago, many eyes turned to the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final as Muskegon Mona Shores attempted, and completed, a quest to become the first in Lower Peninsula history to win four straight girls golf team championships.
Many will be watching Division 2 again this weekend as Okemos' Elle Nichols attempts to become only the second in the Lower Peninsula to win three consecutive individual titles.
That's obviously one of the most significant storylines heading into this weekend, but every Final has more than a few. Below are contenders to watch and the stories behind their successes so far. Play begins Friday morning and finishes Saturday afternoon. Click for more information including all qualifiers and Regional results.
Division 1 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West
Top ranked: No.1 Troy, No. 2 Plymouth, No. 3 Saline.
Plymouth won its first MHSAA team championship in 2012; could this weekend be Troy’s turn to do the same? The Colts have been in the hunt before but never finished among the top two at a Final. Saline’s best player now was its third-best in 2010 when her team won its most recent of three MHSAA titles.
Troy: The Colts are favored to win their first MHSAA championship after missing the Finals completely a year ago – although senior Amanda McCafferty played on the team that finished fifth in Division 1 in 2011. She and all four teammates shot 90 or better and posted the best Regional score (333 at Dearborn Country Club) in Division 1, with sophomore Naomi Kim (78) placing fifth and sophomore Jennifer Cui (79) sixth individually.
Plymouth: The reigning champ comes into the weekend with three of its top five from last season’s championship run – junior Sydney Murphy, sophomore Katie Chipman and senior Kayla Whatley – and all three finished among the top eight individuals at the Regional at the University of Michigan. The Wildcats were ranked 10th only two weeks ago, but shot the second-lowest Regional score (335) in Division 1.
Saline: The Hornets finished second to Plymouth at the U-M Regional, but by only four strokes and should be similarly dangerous this weekend. Regional medalist Emily White, a senior, tied for sixth at last season’s Finals in leading Saline to a seventh-place team finish. Sophomore Samantha Kellstrom and senior Stacy Cruze followed White as the next best shooters during that Finals run, and they finished third and 18th, respectively, at last week’s Regional.
Other individuals of note: Holt’s Pader Her finished just four strokes off the individual lead at last season's Final. She shot a 69 at her Regional last week at East Kentwood to win by seven strokes over the Falcons’ Sarah White, who tied with Saline’s White and Grosse Pointe South’s Lily Pendy for sixth at last season’s Final. Grosse Pointe South certainly could be in the hunt as a team, led by seniors Pendy and Tenley Shield, who finished first and tied for third, respectively, at the Dearborn Regional; Shield finished fifth at last season’s Final. Troy Athens senior Jennifer Yang, Ann Arbor Skyline freshman Jamie Laude and Dearborn junior Elayna Bowser joined all of those players in shooting 76 or better at Regionals.
Division 2 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers East
Top ranked: No. 1 Birmingham Seaholm, No. 2 South Lyon, No. 3 Okemos.
Seaholm was the last team to win a Division 2 title before Mona Shores won the last four keyed by an incredible class that graduated in the spring. South Lyon and Okemos are ranked next, and both are seeking their first finishes among the top two at an MHSAA Final.
Reigning individual champion: Elle Nichols, Okemos.
Birmingham Seaholm: Strength throughout the lineup and consistency make Seaholm tough to catch off its game; the Maples finished fourth at the 2012 Final despite no individuals among the top 10, and four of those players will be starting again this weekend. All five from this season’s lineup finished among the top 11 at the Regional at Holly’s Heather Highlands, led by senior Megan Lam and sophomore Jordan Michalak shooting 80 and tying for third. Lam missed the individual top 10 at last season’s Final by only four strokes.
South Lyon: Two starters are back from last season’s team that tied for fifth at the Final, and they were two of the team’s top shooters as it carded a 329 to win the Regional at Ypsilanti’s Pine View Golf Course by 51 strokes. Three-year starters Caroline Harding (a junior) and Allison Ranusch (a senior) finished first and fourth, respectively, individually at the Regional, and all five in the lineup finished among the top eight (sophomore Priscilla Harding followed Caroline among the team’s best, in third place).
Okemos: With another individual win this weekend, senior Elle Nichols can join Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Katie Loy (1993-95) as the only three-time Finals champions in Lower Peninsula girls golf history. Nichols won a three-player tie-breaker to claim the title last year, when she led the Chieftains to third place as a team along with returnees Sydney Williams and Jessica Kim among others. All five of this season's starters finished among the top 20 at the Regional at Mason’s El Dorado, with champion Nichols followed by tied-for-sixth senior Carly Bullock.
Other individuals of note: One more from last season’s top 10 also will play this weekend; Fenton senior Samantha Moss finished fourth at the Final and is coming off the Regional title at Heather Highlands. Midland Dow senior Kharissa Carras shot a 75 to win her Regional at Midland’s Currie West, and Traverse City Central junior Amelia Pazetti finished only one stroke back at that tournament.
Division 3 at The Meadows at Grand Valley State
Top ranked: No. 1 Detroit Country Day, No. 2 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood, No. 3 Grand Rapids South Christian.
Given its prowess in other sports, it might surprise to find out Country Day has never won an MHSAA girls golf championship – although the Yellowjackets, in tying for third, came within four strokes of earning their first last season. Runner-up Cranbrook-Kingswood was only two strokes back of champion Forest Hills Eastern, and South Christian usually is in the hunt – the Sailors have finished first or second in five of the last seven Division 3 Finals.
Detroit Country Day: The top three and fifth shooter from last season’s close Finals call all are back in the lineup this weekend, led by senior Ellie Miller – who tied for seventh individually and was runner-up at last week’s Regional at Pontiac’s Fieldstone. The other three returnees from 2012 – senior Monika Hedni, junior Nicole Junn and sophomore Simran Brar – all finished among the top 11 at the Regional as Country Day edged Cranbrook-Kingswood by a stroke.
Cranbrook-Kingswood: The Cranes obviously hope to reverse that Regional finish and also return to the Final with heavy hitters in senior Greer Clausen and junior Cordelia Chan – Chan tied for second individually last season and Clausen was sixth. Chan won the Regional at Fieldstone and Clausen was third, with all five in the lineup tying for 21st or better.
Grand Rapids South Christian: Only one starter is back from the team that finished sixth in Division 3 in 2012. But senior Megan Wierenga was the team’s low scorer last season and also was a starter on the runner-up team in 2011. She won the Regional at Byron Center’s Railside Country Club by a stroke, with senior Grace Elenbaas tying for seventh and sophomore Nicole Hoekwater tying for ninth.
Others individuals of note: Forest Hills Eastern junior Henna Singh is the lone holdover from last season’s MHSAA champion team, and she was the leader of that group coming in fifth individually. She won the Regional at Cedar Springs’ Cedar Chase by four strokes last week. Hastings senior Kylie Nemetz tied for seventh individually at the 2012 Final and is back as an individual qualifier. She and senior teammate Katie Brown both finished among the top seven at Railside.
Division 4 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley
Top ranked: No. 1 Flint Powers Catholic, No. 2 Grosse Ile, No. 3 Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian.
After failing to make the Finals last season, Flint Powers is the favorite to unseat three-time reigning champion Lansing Catholic, to which the Chargers finished runner-up in 2011. Grosse Ile is playing for its third title in five seasons – the Red Devils won Division 4 in 2009 and Division 3 in 2011 – and NorthPointe is seeking its first top-two Finals finish after missing second place by three strokes last season.
Flint Powers: Senior Kristen Wolfe did make last season’s Final as an individual qualifier and missed the top 10 by two strokes. She finished second at the Regional at Bay City Country Club, with senior Morgan Zloto third and junior Reanna Barth tied for sixth. Zloto joined Wolfe in scoring for the 2011 team that finished second at the Final.
Grosse Ile: Back in Division 4 after also tying for third in Division 3 a year ago, Grosse Ile can boast three of its top five from that contender led by seniors Emily Bargardi and Katherine Kuzmiak. Bargardi finished second at the Regional at Grosse Ile’s West Shore Country Club, and Kuzmiak – who tied for seventh individually at the 2012 Division 3 Final – finished third at the Regional as all five Red Devils placed among the top eight.
Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian: Monica Koert finished seventh individually at last season’s Division 4 Final and leads three returning starters. She finished first and juniors Molly Antor and Allison Starr finished third and seventh, respectively, at the Regional at Eastern Hills in Kalamazoo as the team beat last season’s Finals runner-up Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Central by 11 strokes.
Other individuals of note: Lansing Catholic senior Jacqueline Setas will close out a career that’s included three team championships and three individual finishes of fourth or higher. She faced Muskegon Catholic Central’s Aya Johnson in a tie-breaker for first last season before finishing runner-up, and will be the heavy favorite to end her high school career with a medalist honor. Farwell junior Bria Colosky and Hanover-Horton senior Megan Klintworth were two of three who tied for ninth individually at last season’s Final, and both are coming off strong Regional finishes; Klintworth won at Jackson’s Cacades Golf Course, and Colosky finished runner-up at Manistee National to Maple City Glen Lake freshman Nicole Cox.
PHOTO: Okemos’ Elle Nichols poses with an MHSAA trophy after winning the individual championship at the 2011 Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final. She finished first in Division 2 last season as well. (Click to see more from High School Sports Scene.)
Finals Preview: All-Time Greats Guarantee Plenty of Anticipation
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 13, 2022
Last season saw some of finest performances in MHSAA Lower Peninsula Girls Golf Finals history. And with a number of standouts returning this weekend, we’re looking forward to the encore.
Macomb Lutheran North’s Lauren Timpf is a returning individual champion after her 139 last season was the second-lowest score in LPD3 Finals history and tied for third-lowest for any Class or Division, with her opening round 66 setting an all-Class/Division record. Ann Arbor Greenhills’ Mia Melendez set the LPD4 Finals record with a title-clinching 143 – and she’s back as just a sophomore.
South Lyon senior Gabriella Tapp is pursuing her third individual title after shooting a 144 in 2021 to tie for the fourth-lowest 36-hole score at an LPD2 Finals. Portage Northern’s KT Leinwand posted the 10th-lowest for that division all-time in finishing second at 148.
Meanwhile on the team side, Northville is in pursuit of a fifth-straight LPD1 championship – and coming off a two-day 615 last year that was the second-lowest in all-Class/Division Finals history.
Play both days this weekend begins at 10 a.m. See below for a number of teams and individuals who could be in contention, and check out the MHSAA Website for full lineups and more.
Rankings are by iWanamaker based on teams' 18-hole rounds through Regionals.
LP Division 1 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley
Top-ranked: 1. Northville, 2. Brighton, 3. Rochester Adams
This is a loaded top three. Northville has won the last four LP Division 1 championships and claimed the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Tournament title last week. Brighton defeated Northville earlier this season in match play to eventually end up the champion of the KLAA West. And Adams is just a few weeks removed from winning its first Oakland County championship. Brighton was fourth and Adams seventh last season, and Rockford is aiming to be another serious contender ranked No. 4 after finishing eighth a year ago.
Northville: Seniors Samantha Coleman and Avi Gill are the only returnees from last year’s Finals top five, but both bring plenty of high-level experience to this weekend. Coleman just missed placing among the top 10 individuals last year after tying for sixth as a sophomore and scoring for the Mustangs at the 2019 Final, while Gil tied for 14th in 2020. Northville won last week’s Regional at Washtenaw Golf Course by 36 strokes, shooting a 324, with senior Ally Zuidema finishing first individually, Coleman second and junior Meera Sankar tying for sixth.
Brighton: The Bulldogs have ascended from not qualifying as a team in 2019 to tying for sixth in 2020 and finishing fourth last fall. All five of last season’s starters are back this weekend, and junior Abbie Pietila missed placing in the top 10 last year by three strokes. Brighton shot a 310 at El Dorado in Mason to win last week’s Regional by 28 strokes, with senior Amelia Gatti third, junior Lauren Forcier tied for fourth, junior Madison Martens sixth and Pietila seventh. The Bulldogs are seeking their first Finals championship, having finished LPD1 runner-up in 2017.
Rochester Adams: The Highlanders also are seeking their first Finals championship, having finished runners-up in 1999 and 2020. Adams was seventh last season with just one senior in the lineup, and junior Laura Liu is back after tying for fourth individually last year and just missing the top 10 as a freshman. Senior Grace Wang also returns after tying for ninth individually in 2020. Adams won its Regional at Metamora Country Club with a 315, 17 strokes lower than No. 5 Rochester High. Junior Katie Fodale tied for individual runner-up, with Wang fifth and Liu sixth.
More individuals of note: Grand Blanc senior Kate Brody has been one of the state’s most dominant golfers during her four seasons, winning the LPD1 individual championship in 2020, tying for fourth last year placing third as a freshman. Troy Athens senior Olivia Hemmila also has been driving toward a high finish after tying for ninth last year and qualifying for the Finals her first two seasons as well. They and Liu are the only top-10 returnees from 2021, although Troy senior Riley Hayden was 11th and should contend again. Brody shot a 65 to win the El Dorado Regional, and Hemmila won at Stoney Creek Metropark last week. Also claiming Regional titles were Rockford junior Jessica Jolly – with a 64 at The Meadows at Grand Valley State – Farmington junior Venetia Chap and Rochester sophomore Madison Yang.
LP Division 2 at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers West
Top-ranked: 1. South Lyon, 2. Farmington Hills Mercy, 3. Byron Center
South Lyon won its first championship in 2020, after finishing runner-up in 2019, and the Lions placed third last season. Mercy is seeking its first top-two Finals finish since placing runner-up in LPD1 in 2012; the Marlins won LPD1 titles in 1999 and 2001. Byron Center is seeking its first championship but coming off its highest Finals finish, runner-up last year to a first-time champion in Dearborn Divine Child. South Lyon shot a 321 to edge Mercy by seven strokes and win last week’s Regional at Farmington Hills Golf Club.
South Lyon: Senior Gabriella Tapp is finishing up another of the most illustrious careers in MHSAA history, seeking to add a third championship to her Finals titles in 2019 and 2021 and tie for sixth place in 2020. Senior Ellen Albert joined her in last season’s lineup, and sophomore Kaylyn Wisniewski tied Tapp – and then defeated her in the tie-breaker – to win the medalist honor at last week’s Regional, where Albert placed fourth.
Farmington Hills Mercy: The Marlins finished fourth at last season’s Final with six players figuring into the lineup – and none a senior. Five of those six are slated to play this weekend, and all five placed among the top 15 at the aforementioned Regional at Farmington Hills GC. Sophomore Maeve Casey was third, junior Abbey Slankster fifth, sophomore Lisa Polakowski sixth and senior Chloe Vig seventh. Vig was the team’s low scorer at last season’s Final and also scored for the team that finished fourth when she was a freshman in 2019.
Byron Center: The Bulldogs also made their run at the championship last season with a younger group, graduating only one from the five that finished nine strokes back. Junior Macie Elzinga finished third individually last season, and she was the Regional runner-up at Yankee Springs in Wayland last week as Byron Center won the team title by 22 strokes. Seniors Jayda Kerns (seventh) and McKenna Turnbull (tied for ninth) also placed among the top 10 at the Regional.
More individuals of note: The top four and six of the top 11 individual finishers from last season are back. Portage Northern junior KT Leinwand was runner-up in 2021, four strokes back of Tapp and four ahead of Elzinga, and Coopersville junior Lauren Davis was one of three players to tie for fourth last season. Zeeland West junior Rylee Smith tied for ninth, and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern senior Ashleigh Duflo was 11th and just a stroke out of ninth. Leinwand edged Elzinga by a stroke to win last week at Yankee Springs, and Davis was the Regional champion at Arrowhead in Lowell. Midland Dow freshman Sophia Lee, Dexter freshman Avery Manning and Ypsilanti Lincoln junior Madison Cowhy also won Regional titles.
LP Division 3 at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers East
Top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 2. Macomb Lutheran North, 3. Grosse Ile
Cranbrook Kingswood is the reigning champion after edging Grosse Ile by six strokes a year ago, with that title the Cranes’ first since 2001. Grosse Ile would love to similarly add to its proud history this weekend, with its most recent championship in 2011. Lutheran North also is a regular near the top, finishing sixth last season with its most recent Finals title in 2017.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood: The Cranes graduated three from last season’s championship team, but junior Sienna Ilitch will be playing in her third Final and junior teammate Mackenzie Behnke also was a starter last year. Cranbrook’s 334 at Flint Elks Club last week was second at that Regional but also second-lowest among all LPD3 scores. Behnke was third, Ilitch fourth, sophomore Sophia Kouza fifth and junior Anya Samsonov tied for sixth with scores of 82, 83, 84 and 85, respectively.
Macomb Lutheran North: The Mustangs were the team to best Cranbrook at Flint Elks and statewide last week, led by junior medalist Lauren Timpf, runner-up sophomore Saige Rothey, another sixth-place finisher in senior Aileen Cosentino and 10th-place freshman Gabby Cardenas. Timpf is the reigning LPD3 Final champion after besting the field by 14 strokes last season, and Cosentino, Rothey and senior Mia Roe also were part of the 2021 lineup.
Grosse Ile: The Red Devils graduated two of their top four from last season’s runner-up team, but return the third-place individual finisher and another who just missed making the top 10. Senior Lily Bargamian, junior Hanna Hargrove and senior Sydney Botten all are back and were the team’s top three scorers at last week’s Regional at Huron Meadows in Brighton. Bargamian – the third-place Finals finisher in 2021 – won last week’s Regional, with Hargrove fourth after finishing three strokes outside the Finals top 10 a year ago.
More individuals of note: The medalist race should be interesting with Timpf back off that big win but likely to be challenged by five more returnees from last season’s top 10. Joining her and Bargamian are Grand Rapids South Christian junior Ashley Thomasma (fourth), Freeland sophomore Averie Pumford (fifth), Grand Rapids Catholic Central sophomore Ava Wisinski (tied for seventh) and Ada Forest Hills Eastern junior Sophie Skoog (10th). Timpf and Bargamian won Regional titles last week. Williamston sophomore Nicole Schafer edged Pumford by a stroke at nearby Wheatfield Valley, and Grand Rapids Christian freshman Lillian O’Grady bested a field at Willow Wood in Portland that included Wisinski and Thomasma tying for second. Ludington junior Emma McKinley and Charlotte senior Hannah Robinson also won Regional titles.
LP Division 4 at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University
Top-ranked: 1. Jackson Lumen Christi, 2. Adrian Lenawee Christian, 3. Kalamazoo Christian
Two-time reigning champion Montague just missed advancing to this year’s Finals, but Lansing Catholic is in the field after finishing second both of those seasons. Lumen Christi was third last season and is seeking its first championship since 2004. Lenawee Christian was fourth in 2021 and Kalamazoo Christian was sixth, and both are seeking their first top-two finishes.
Jackson Lumen Christi: All five starters are seniors after four started as juniors a year ago and three as sophomores in 2020. Senior Ashley Hilderley missed the top 10 at last year’s Final by a stroke, and she was the medalist at last week’s Regional at Pine Hills in Laingsburg as the Titans finished 13 strokes better than runner-up Lansing Catholic. Michaela Hauer tied for third, Alexa Spencer placed sixth and Anna McClure ninth at Pine Hills, with Hauer and McClure joining Hilderley as three-year anchors in the lineup.
Adrian Lenawee Christian: The Cougars have built from 17th in 2019 to tied for ninth in 2020 to fourth last season, when senior Lauren Swiggum also tied for fourth individually. Lenawee Christian returns all five starters from last year’s Finals lineup, and all five placed in the top 10 last week at Hills of Lenawee in a 59-stroke Regional win. Senior Morgan Bell was the runner-up, Swiggum was fourth, junior Yuki Nakamura fifth, senior Avery Sluss sixth and senior Madalyn Shaw tied for 10th.
Kalamazoo Christian: Although three seniors graduated off last year’s team, now-senior Kylie Gernaat and now-sophomore Jordyn Bonnema were the team’s low scorers at last fall’s Final. They are joined this time by another senior and two more sophomores, and that group won last week’s Regional at Moss Ridge in Ravenna by 43 strokes against a field that also included No. 4 Montague, No. 5 Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep and No. 6 Grandville Calvin Christian. Gernaat was second individually, sophomore Scarlett Hindbaugh was fourth and Bonnema finished fifth.
More individuals of note: Only three of last season’s top 10 are back, and four of the top 12. But Ann Arbor Greenhills’ sophomore Mia Melendez is the reigning champion and coming off a 15-stroke Regional win at Washtenaw Golf Club. Traverse City St. Francis sophomore Grace Slocum was eighth at the Final last season, and Brooklyn Columbia Central sophomore Logan Bentley was ninth – making for some possibly intriguing Finals for the Class of 2025 over the next few seasons. Bentley and Slocum joined Melendez and Hilderley as Regional champions last week, as did Grandville Calvin Christian senior Andrea Diemer and Remus Chippewa Hills sophomore Madison Allen.
PHOTO Macomb Lutheran North's Lauren Timpf watches one of her drives during last season's Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)