Preview: Seeking to Join Champions Club
October 14, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A year after winning their first MHSAA girls golf championships, Spring Lake and Kalamazoo Hackett are expected to repeat as low scorers at their respective Finals this weekend.
But if the coaches polls are correct, Midland Dow will be the next to join the first-time title-winners club, and Brighton could jump into the mix for the first time as well.
All four Lower Peninsula Finals will tee off Friday morning and finish Saturday. See below for glances at the favored teams in each division, plus others who could make runs at individual titles as only Maple City Glen Lake junior Nichole Cox is back as a reigning champion. Click for qualifiers and Regional results from all four divisions and Finals results as they are reported, and check back Saturday evening for coverage of all four tournaments.
LP Division 1 at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University
Top-ranked: 1. Rochester, 2. Lake Orion, 3. Brighton.
Rochester is a favorite to add its first MHSAA title since winning back-to-back in 2008 and 2009, while Lake Orion last won in spring 2007 but was runner-up last season and Brighton is seeking its first championship. Plymouth, the winner in 2012 and 2013, saw its reign end a year ago but enters this weekend ranked No. 7 and shot a 320 in winning its Regional. Watch out for sixth-ranked Troy, which put three players in the 70s in shooting 309 to also win last week.
Rochester – The Falcons won their Regional at Davison Country Club with a score of 317, 16 strokes better than Lake Orion and with three individuals among the top six finishers. Juniors Veronica Haque and Erika Yang tied for third at 74 and junior Brooke Busse tied for sixth at 80; Haque was fifth at last season’s Final as an individual qualifier after the team missed making the tournament by two strokes.
Lake Orion – Although the Dragons finished second at the Regional, they do bring back three players from last season’s Final runner-up. Junior Moyea Russell was eighth individually in 2014 and tied for 10th at last week’s Regional, while senior Lauren Danielson was fifth last week at 76. Those two and senior Megan Miller also played on the team that finished 10th at the 2013 Final.
Brighton – The Bulldogs also shot 317 to win their Regional, at Hartland Glen, after missing the Final as a team last season. Junior Julia Dean, playing her first season of high school golf, won the individual regional championship with a 71 and was joined by freshman Annie Pietilla and sophomore Heather Fortushniak, who tied for 10th, while all five players finished among the top 23.
Other individuals of note: Seven of last year’s top 11 (who finished among the top 10 with ties) are back this weekend, led by third-place Lauren Ingle of Rochester Hills Stoney Creek. She won the Regional at Davison by a stroke at 72 over Cardinals junior Kamryn Johnston. The top four at the Regional at Fox Hills in Plymouth were Plymouth senior Katie Chipman at 69, Ann Arbor Skyline junior Jamie Laude at 74 and Saline senior Samantha Kellstrom and Ann Arbor Pioneer sophomore Katie-Mina Lee both at 76 – Laude tied for ninth at last season’s Final and Kellstrom was sixth. Senior Jennifer Cui, also a ninth-place finisher in 2014, led Troy’s incredible team effort with a winning 73 at Twin Lakes. East Kentwood senior Mackenzie Keenoy will be the lone representative of the reigning team champion after finishing second with a 75 at Broadoor Golf Course in Caledonia, where Traverse City West freshman Anika Dy went low with a 70. Total, 25 players broke 80 in LP Division 1 Regionals.
LP Division 2 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley
Top-ranked: 1. Midland Dow, 2. Birmingham Seaholm, 3. Okemos.
Midland Dow has been ranked No. 1 in this division all season as it has pursued its first MHSAA championship after finishing fifth a year ago. But reigning champion Seaholm has been ranked No. 2 all season after winning last year’s title by an incredible 37 strokes. Okemos remains in the mix as well after finishing fourth last season; the Chiefs have been ranked no lower than No. 4 this fall and also are seeking a first championship.
Midland Dow – The top three from last season’s Finals lineup are back this weekend, led by fourth-place individual finisher Stephanie Carras. The junior won the Regional at The Emerald in St. Johns in a playoff after shooting a 74, while sophomore Alexis Carras was fifth and senior Alexie Flaminio was seventh. The team won the Regional title over No. 5 Flushing thanks to a fifth-score tie-breaker after both shot 340.
Seaholm – The Maples also have three back from last season’s Finals lineup and won their Regional at Heather Highlands in Holly by 16 strokes with a 328. Seniors Allegra Cunningham and Jordan Michalak were second and third, respectively, at the Regional, after finishing second and tied for seventh at last season’s Final. All five Seaholm golfers finished among the top 11 and shot at least 87 last week.
Okemos – The Chiefs also shot 340 to win their Regional, by 15 strokes, at Island Hills in Centreville. Four golfers from last season’s Final are back, and all four finished among the top 11 individuals at the Regional – senior Jessica Kim was third at 78, while senior Macy Dahnke was eighth, senior Kaylie Anderson was 10th and junior Lauren Kim was 11th. Jessica Kim and Dahnke also played on the 2013 team that finished only a stroke behind champion Seaholm.
Other individuals of note: In addition to the three mentioned above, Flushing junior Kerrigan Parks (ninth) and South Lyon senior Priscilla Harding (tied for 10th) are back from last season’s top 10; Parks played Carras in the playoff last week at The Emerald, while Harding and sophomore sister Elizabeth tied for second at Pine View in Ypsilanti, two strokes behind Detroit Renaissance senior Nia Little. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer freshman Karina VanDuinen carried her team to within two strokes of qualifying while winning the individual Regional title at Thornapple Pointe in Grand Rapids by 11 strokes with a 71. Grosse Pointe North senior Liz Gallagher shot a 75 to edge the Seaholm seniors in Holly.
Division 3 at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers West
Top-ranked: 1. Spring Lake, 2. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 3. Goodrich.
The Lakers and longtime coach George Bitner celebrated their first MHSAA championship in 2014 and are favored to repeat. But providing the main obstacle again should be Cranbrook Kingswood, runner-up the last three seasons and seeking its first title since 2006. Goodrich didn’t have a team as of two seasons ago but has quickly joined the elite.
Spring Lake – Four of the team’s top five from last season, including individual runner-up Anna Kramer, will pace the lineup again this weekend after the team won last year’s Final by 18 strokes. Spring Lake won its Regional by 43 strokes with a 332 at Ada’s Egypt Valley, with junior Madelyn Nelson finishing first, senior Kayla Krueger second, junior Kramer tying for fourth and senior Emma Conroy 11th.
Cranbrook Kingswood – The Cranes graduated two-time individual champion Cordelia Chan but hope to break through for another title with three more back from last season’s team. They played well under pressure last week, winning the Regional at Holly Meadows in Capac by two strokes over Goodrich, shooting an impressive 328. This season’s returnees all finished among the top seven at the Regional – sophomore Katie Cao was third, senior Molly Wiener tied for fourth and sophomore Carmen Chan was seventh.
Goodrich – Sisters Taylor Harding and Sydni Harding tied for first at Holly Meadows (Taylor won in a playoff) and all five players finished among the top 24. Taylor Harding did make the Final last season and finished eighth, and is one of three seniors among the top five with Sydni Harding a junior.
Other individuals of note: The individual race should be intense, with seven of last year’s top 10 returning and seven players total breaking 80 at last week’s Regionals. Lake Odessa Lakewood senior Emily Barker was third at last season’s Final and shot the low Regional score in LPD3, a 73. Carleton Airport junior Olivia Reed and Warren Regina senior Kendall Graves were among four players who tied for fourth last year, and Ada Forest Hills Eastern junior Megan Skoog and Wayland senior Ali Martus followed Harding in ninth and 10th, respectively, in 2014. Detroit Country Day junior Mallika Brar finished a stroke ahead of Reed to win the Regional at Monroe Country Club, while Grand Rapids South Christian senior Nicole Hoekwater won the Regional at HawksHead in South Haven, where Holland Christian senior Abby Karsten was second and Martus was third.
LP Division 4 at Forest Akers East
Top-ranked: 1. Kalamazoo Hackett, 2. Livonia Ladywood, 3. Macomb Lutheran North.
Hackett last season became the first team not Grosse Ile or Lansing Catholic to win an LP Division 4 title in the division’s six-year history, finishing 33 strokes ahead of the field. Lutheran North was third and Ladywood was seventh, although the latter was LP Division 2 runner-up as recently as spring 2007.
Kalamazoo Hackett – Three of Hackett’s top five are back to lead the repeat attempt, including senior Elizabeth Stull, who tied for ninth individually last season. The Fighting Irish have been ranked No. 1 all fall and shot 324 to win the Regional at Eastern Hills in Kalamazoo by 38 strokes. Stull won the individual regional title, with junior Naomi Keyte second and senior Becca Radomsky fifth – both also started with Stull at last season’s Final. All five Hackett players were among the top 12 at the Regional.
Ladywood – The Blazers also shot an impressive regional score, winning at Huron Meadows in Brighton with a 327 that outpaced Lutheran North by 13 strokes. They should be poised to make a run at Hackett loaded with experience, as last season’s top four finishers at the Final all are back. Senior Carley Hall won the Regional with a 77, while junior Lydia Cranmer and sophomore Gabriella Scopone tied for third and junior Jordyn Rioux was sixth.
Lutheran North – The Mustangs have been ranked at least No. 3 all season and spent the first half at No. 2 led by three returnees from last season’s Final. Sophomore Serena Nguyen tied for seventh in 2014 and was fifth at Huron Meadows last week as all five players on her team finished among the top nine. Junior Sydney Martens was second, junior Madison Mohr seventh, freshman Kaity Rittner eighth and senior Grace McKelvey tied for ninth. Martens and McKelvey also played in last year’s Final.
Other individuals of note: Maple City Glen Lake junior Nichole Cox is one of the state’s top players regardless of division and is seeking her second straight LP Division 4 title. Frankenmuth boasts a pair of top-10 finishers from a year ago – senior Shayna Schneider was fourth and junior Megan Watkins was sixth. Manistee senior Fallon Gates finished only a stroke behind Cox with a 75 at their Regional at Grayling Country Club, while Watkins and Schneider were first and second at Glenbrier in Perry.
PHOTO: Lakewood’s Emily Barker watches one of her shots on the way to winning last week’s Regional at Centennial Acres in Sunfield. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Preview: Forecast Calls for Rain, But Also History-Making Possibilities
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 19, 2023
The weather forecast this weekend calls for too much rain. But let’s hope that stays away, as the forecast for the four Lower Peninsula Girls Golf Finals has a chance to be historic.
Three of last season’s individual medalists are back, and two are playing for a third championship – something only six golfers in Lower Peninsula girls golf history have achieved. On the team side, two of the four top-ranked favorites entering Friday’s first rounds are seeking their first team titles, and another is seeking to repeat.
Play begins both Friday and Saturday at 10 a.m., and live scoring is available through iWanamaker. See the Girls Golf page on MHSAA.com for programs for all four divisions. Below is a glance at several team and individual contenders expected to be in the championship mix:
LP Division 1 at Forest Akers West
Top-ranked: 1. Brighton, 2. Plymouth, 3. Northville
If rankings are right, the best from the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West are going to match up one more time this fall. Brighton was first, Northville second and Plymouth third in league match play, Plymouth and Northville switched spots at the league postseason tournament, and then Brighton-Plymouth-Northville was the order at the Regional at Salem Hills in Northville. Brighton was second at last year’s Final to Rochester Adams, which is ranked No. 4 heading into this weekend.
Brighton: Four of last season’s runner-up five are set to play again this weekend, led by seniors Lauren Forcier and Abbie Pietila, who finished 18th and 22nd last season. Brighton carded a 322 at Salem Hills to win by seven strokes, with Pietila tied for second, Forcier fifth and senior Madison Martens sixth. Junior Anelise Gatti also returns to the starting lineup from last year’s Final.
Plymouth: The Wildcats finished 10th a year ago but second in 2021, and they too will bring back four golfers from last season’s Finals lineup. Senior Brooke Morris tied for 10th a year ago and tied for second as well at Salem Hills last week as sophomore teammate Annie Flavin was the medalist with a 75. Senior Sydney Mazur and junior Regan Brydges also are returning, and Morris and Mazur also were part of that second-place team when they were sophomores.
Northville: The Division 1 champion four straight seasons from 2018-21 finished fourth a year ago and graduated its top three from Finals weekend. But senior Meera Sankar and junior Sanya Singhal have been bolstered by a strong group, with freshman Naaz Gil finishing 10th at the Regional.
More individuals of note: Although Morris is the only individual above who finished among the top 10 at last year’s Final, eight players total are back from the top 10 (actually top 12 because of ties). East Kentwood senior Elise Fennell tied for fourth as a freshman, tied for seventh as a sophomore and was runner-up last season finishing just one stroke off the lead. Rockford senior Jessica Jolly tied for ninth as a freshman, tied for 13th as a sophomore and finished third last fall. Adams senior Katie Fodale is back after finishing fifth, Okemos junior Alena Li and Adams senior Laura Liu tied for sixth last year, and Farmington senior Venetia Chap and Rochester High junior Madison Yang joined Morris tied for 10th. And there is a past champion in this field as well – Byron Center senior Macie Elzinga won the LPD2 championship in 2022 after finishing third the year before. Fennell won the Regional last week at Betsie Valley in Thompsonville ahead of Jolly and Elzinga, carding a 67. Joining her and Flavin among Regional champs were Chap, Troy Athens senior Ava Weeks, Liu and Li.
LP Division 2 at Forest Akers East
Top-ranked: 1. Farmington Hills Mercy, 2. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 3. DeWitt
Coming off its first Finals championship since 2001, Mercy is the favorite to repeat. But Cranbrook should provide plenty of competition after winning Division 3 in 2021 and finishing runner-up last season. They finished 1-2 last week at the Regional at Farmington Hills Golf Club, Mercy prevailing by six strokes. DeWitt moved up three spots in this week’s poll and is seeking its first Finals title since the first fall Lower Peninsula girls golf season in 2007.
Farmington Hills Mercy: Juniors Maeve Casey and Lila Polakowski and senior Abby Slankster are back from last season’s Finals lineup, Casey having finished fourth. She also won last week’s Regional as all five Marlins placed among the top 20 against a field that also included No. 10 Grosse Pointe South. Slankster tied for third and Polakowski was sixth at the Regional.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood: Seniors Mackenzie Behnke, Sienna Ilitch and Anya Samsonov and sophomore Sydney Behnke all are back from last season’s Finals lineup – and after Mackenzie Behnke tied for ninth in LPD3 – and she and Ilitch were part of the 2021 championship lineup as well. Ilitch was second, Behnke tied for third and Sydney Behnke was eighth at the Regional as all five golfers placed among the top 16.
DeWitt: The Panthers made their move in part after defeating then-No. 3 Mason and No. 7 Dexter at the Regional at El Dorado in Mason, with junior Courtney Novak finishing second and senior Jordyn Crawley tied for fifth. They and junior Cate Piesko and senior Laynie Hanlin were part of the lineup that finished ninth at last year’s Final.
More individuals of note: With Elzinga playing in Division 1, Casey is the highest returning placer from last year’s Final, followed immediately by Coopersville senior Lauren Davis, who came in fifth. Portage Northern senior KT Leiwand finished eighth in 2022 and joins Davis as an individual qualifier this time. Leiwand was the runner-up and Davis tied for fourth in 2021 as well. Joining Casey as Regional medalists last week were Carleton Airport junior Sophie Bucki, Dexter sophomore Avery Manning, Richland Gull Lake sophomore Charlotte Boudeman, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer senior Paige Anderson and Midland sophomore Lauren Deckrow.
LPD3 at The Meadows at Grand Valley State
Top-ranked: 1. Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 2. Macomb Lutheran North, 3. Williamston
Grand Rapids Catholic Central has never finished first or second at a Finals, but placed fifth last season and is forecast to overtake Lutheran North, who won last season’s championship six strokes ahead of Cranbrook. Williamston also is seeking a first top-two Finals finish and placed 10th last season. Those three have occupied the top three spots in the state rankings, in that order, for the last five weeks.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central: Three of the Cougars’ top four from last season’s Finals lineup return this weekend, with junior Ava Wisinski back after tying for fourth individually and sophomore Kelsey Preston having tied for sixth in 2022. Katie Cook also was part of that lineup and is the only senior among this year’s top five. Preston was fourth, Wisinski fifth and Cook eighth as GRCC won a Regional at Winding Creek in Holland that also featured No. 4 Grand Rapids South Christian and No. 5 Spring Lake.
Macomb Lutheran North: Three of last season’s championship-winning five are back, led by back-to-back medalist Lauren Timpf as she looks to complete her high school career with one more title. She was the medalist, junior Saige Rothey third and sophomore Garry Cardenas seventh as the team bested No. 6 Detroit Country Day and No. 8 Bloomfield Hills Marian at the Regional at Huron Meadows Metropark in Brighton last week. Rothey finished 13th at last year’s Final, and Cardenas also was in the lineup.
Williamston: The Hornets followed four top-nine finishers to claim the Regional title at Grosse Ile Golf & Country Club, where No. 9 Pinckney finished second. Four of Williamston’s top five are back from last year’s Final, led by junior Nicole Schafer, who finished 12th in 2022 and was runner-up at the Regional last week. Senior Ellie Thorburn was next at the Regional in fourth, freshman Paige Radebach tied for fifth and junior Athena Hart was ninth. Senior Allison Kane also was in last season’s Finals lineup.
More individuals of note: This field is loaded with nine golfers back from last season’s top nine plus ties. But Timpf still will be tough to catch. She seeking to become just the seventh player in Lower Peninsula history to win three Finals individual titles, and she won her Regional by 13 strokes. Grand Rapids Christian sophomore Lillian O’Grady joined Wisinski in fourth last season, Pinckney senior Alivia Ligrow joined Preston tying for sixth, Grand Rapids South Christian senior Ashley Thomasma is back after finishing eighth and Behnke was joined in ninth last fall by Freeland junior Averie Pumford and Ludington senior Emma McKinley. O’Grady, Ligrow, Pumford and McKinley also were Regional medalists last week, as was Vicksburg senior Brooklynn Ringler.
LP Division 4 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley
Top-ranked: 1. Lansing Catholic, 2. Brooklyn Columbia Central, 3. Kalamazoo Christian
Lansing Catholic followed up back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2020 and 2021 with a third place last season, and the Cougars enter as favored to win a first Finals championship since 2012. Columbia Central and Kalamazoo Christian both are seeking a first top-two Finals finish, having placed seventh and fourth, respectively, last fall.
Lansing Catholic: Senior Sophie Hauser tied for ninth last season and leads four returners from last year’s Final, where sophomores Brynn Anderson and Julia Sambaer and sophomore Addi Rule also finished among the top 30. They dominated last week’s Regional at Glenbrier in Perry with Hauser the medalist, Rule fourth, Anderson tied for fifth and Sambaer tied for eighth. Hauser, Anderson and Sambaer also played on the 2021 team, and Hauser was in the 2020 lineup.
Brooklyn Columbia Central: After junior Logan Bentley qualified and placed as an individual in 2021, her team joined her at the Final last year – and all five of those golfers are back for this run. Bentley moved up from ninth as a freshman to finish individual runner-up last season, and she won last week’s Regional at Rustic Glen in Saline with senior Iliana Fowle fourth, sophomore Kelsey Fausz sixth and juniors Marrisa Berro and Ashley Yang tying for seventh.
Kalamazoo Christian: The Comets graduated two from last season’s fourth-place Finals finisher but also had three sophomores in the lineup who are the team’s top three this fall. Junior Jordyn Bonnema finished seventh individually last season and was second at last week’s Regional at Katke in Big Rapids to junior teammate Kennedy Gernaat, another returner. Also back is junior Scarlett Hindbaugh, who was seventh at the Regional.
More individuals of note: Ann Arbor Greenhills junior Mia Melendez is another of the most notable individuals playing in any division this weekend as she’s also seeking to become the seventh to win a third Lower Peninsula Finals individual championship – but runner-up Bentley and 2022 third-place junior Grace Slocum from Traverse City St. Francis also are back to apply plenty of pressure. Melendez shot 149, Bentley 150 and Slocum 151 last season at The Meadows. Melendez, Slocum and Sandusky senior Helene Mare Long joined last week’s Regional medalists noted above.
PHOTO Brooklyn Columbia Central’s Logan Bentley watches a tee shot during last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)