Reigning Champions Raise the Bar
May 29, 2013
By Stephen Anderson
Special to Second Half
HOUGHTON — The Houghton girls golf team won its third straight MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1 title Wednesday, and Marquette’s Avery Rochester won her second straight medalist honor.
But both raised the bar to new heights, including a U.P. Finals record for Rochester.
The Gremlins compiled a 347 team score, compared to Marquette’s second-place 365. Houghton’s title-winning score in 2012 was 365, and in 2011 it was 374.
“Three straight years where we haven’t lost a meet – that’s real impressive,” Houghton girls coach Corey Markham said. “That just shows the quality of golfers these girls are. … They’ve been so consistent. You couldn’t ask for more than that.”
Megan Kelly paced the Gremlins with an 82, while No. 3 golfer Noelle Polakowski tallied an 84 (the next lowest score by a No. 3 golfer was 103), and Bailey Raffaelli, Houghton’s only senior, shot an 88. Even No. 4 golfer Kenna Farrey shot a 93, good for eighth place overall of the 42 counted scores.
“Going three years and not losing a meet, not losing U.P.’s, it’s a huge honor,” Kelly said. “… It gave us a huge advantage this year having it on our home course.”
But, even playing at Portage Lake Golf Course, the final result was momentarily in doubt as results slowly trickled in. With all Marquette and Houghton scores posted on the board outside the clubhouse except for Polakowski’s, the Redmen held a slight edge – until her 84 clinched the Gremlins’ win.
“I think we all had a goal to break 90,” Polakowski said. “For the most part we did that. … It was our course, and we were ready to go.”
But nobody dominated the par-72 course like Rochester, who set a girls’ U.P. Finals record with a 3-under 69 — two strokes better than the top boys’ score, and just one stroke off the girls MHSAA all-Finals record round (68 by Grandville’s Stacy Snider in 1998).
“It was the best round of my life,” said Rochester, whose previous best round was a 76. The previous U.P. Finals record was 79, set in 2011 by Marquette standout and four-time U.P. Finals medalist Carly Saint-Onge. Rochester was medalist in 2012 with an 82.
“My drives were really good, and my approach shots were right on,” said Rochester, who tallied her first career eagle on the par-5 second hole, her fourth hole of the day. “My drive was about 220 yards. Then my second shot I used a 5-hybrid, hit that to about 30 yards from the green, then a soft sand wedge. It hit once and went straight in the cup,” she said. “… That really pumped me up and got me playing better.”
She shot an even-par 36 over her first nine holes with a pair of bogeys being the worst scores of her round.
“When my coach told me she shot a 36, I thought I wouldn’t be able to touch that,” said Kelly, who entered the day as a medalist contender for the host Gremlins. “Then when she got a 33 (on the last nine), that’s amazing. She’s an awesome golfer.”
Rochester nearly tallied a hole in one on the par-3 14th hole, but the golf ball lipped out.
She was the youngest champion in the 86-year history of the Upper Peninsula Ladies Golf Association tournament last July, and she plans to play golf at Columbia College in Missouri this fall.
“It would have been a great way to end my last year winning as a team too, but I couldn’t have asked for more from the girls on my team,” Rochester said.
Marquette coach Ben Smith said his team’s best previous score was about 400, and the team has failed to record a team score in several meets due to having fewer than four golfers.
“The team result, obviously you want to win whenever you go out. But Houghton shot a great score to take home the title,” Smith said. “We did a good job to hang right in there.”
Sophomore Katie Pryor and freshman Sydney Higgins both shot 95s for Marquette, while Hannah Compton rounded out the top four Redmen scores with a 103.
Just as Marquette came together as a team at just the right time, the weather in Houghton shaped up when it mattered. PLGC opened May 14, its latest opening on record, and for Copper Country teams the golf season was shorter than three weeks due to the long winter.
Wednesday temperatures were about 70 degrees with a light breeze under partly
cloudy skies.
Escanaba finished in third place with a 389, led by Kelsey Motto and Jalyn Dagenais’ 92s. Gladstone was fourth with 410 strokes with Callie Jensen tying with Polakowski for third place individually with an 84.
Menominee (436), Calumet (443), Kingsford (514), Ishpeming-Westwood (587) and Negaunee (652) rounded out the team rankings.
PHOTOS: (Top) Marquette's Avery Rochester watches her drive on the 16th hole at Portage Lake Golf Course. She birdied the par-4 hole to cap her 3-under 69 round, an Upper Peninsula Girls Finals record. (Middle) Houghton's Megan Kelly watches her drive off the 10th tee. She finished second individually with an 82, leading the Gremlins' run to a third straight team title. (Photos by Stephen Anderson.)
Preview: Legendary Opportunities Await
October 17, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
No doubt, this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Girls Golf Finals will provide unforgettable moments for everyone who takes part.
But there also are a number of storylines heading in that could prove memorable in statewide lore for seasons to come.
At least three reigning champions appear in the hunt to repeat – Traverse City West in Division 1, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern in Division 2 and Harbor Springs in Division 4. But West must fend off Northville – arguably the most impressive team this regular season in any division – while Forest Hills Northern just finished second at its Regional to Muskegon Reeths-Puffer and Harbor Springs faces a Division 4 field that includes reigning Division 3 champion Macomb Lutheran North.
For sure, we’ll say good-bye to two of the most accomplished individuals in state girls golf history. West’s Anika Dy and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s Danielle Staskowski will attempt to finish their high school careers with fourth MHSAA Finals individual championships – they’ve both won titles the last two years after Dy finished runner-up in Division 1 as a freshman and Staskowski began her prep run with a fourth place in Division 3 in 2015.
Only three others have won three Lower Peninsula championships since the first Finals in 1973 – Maple City Glen Lake’s Nichole Cox (2014-16), Okemos’ Elle Nichols (2011-13) and Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Kate Loy (1993-95).
Play begins at 10 a.m. both Friday and Saturday. See below for golfers to watch at all four Finals, and come back Saturday evening for coverage of all four championship tournaments on Second Half. Click for a list of all Finals qualifiers and Regional scores from last week.
LP Division 1 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley
Top-ranked: 1. Northville, 2. Bloomfield Hills, 3. Traverse City West.
The Division 1 field is loaded with talented teams, especially representing the southeastern part of the state – 13 of 18 qualifiers are from Livingston, Oakland, Macomb or Wayne counties. But Traverse City West is the reigning Finals champion – and has won two of the last three seasons.
Northville: The Mustangs are undefeated this season playing many of the best teams in Division 1, with an incredible 291 in August setting a program scoring record. All five starters for this weekend were part of last season’s fourth-place Finals finish. Northville tied Hartland with the lowest Regional score in LPD1 last week, shooting a 326 at Travis Pointe in Saline to finish 21 strokes ahead of runner-up and No. 5-ranked Plymouth. Mariella Simoncini is the only senior among the top five, and she was the Regional individual runner-up.
Bloomfield Hills: The Black Hawks finished second by two strokes to No. 8 Clarkston at the Regional at Clarkston’s Pine Knob, shooting a 336, and remain No. 2 in the rankings. They won their second straight Oakland County Division 1 championship earlier this fall and bring back this weekend the four scorers from last season’s seventh-place finisher. Senior Mikaela Schulz was fourth individually a year ago and won the Regional title last week with a 74, four strokes ahead of sophomore teammate and runner-up Sanju Swamy.
Traverse City West: Senior Anika Dy will lead the Titans into this weekend seeking a third straight individual championship to go with a third team title. She won last year’s Final by eight strokes, while now-sophomore sister Anci Dy tied for sixth. Senior Jillian Ellul also returns from last year’s top five, and together they finished first, second and third, respectively as West shot a 335 to win last week’s Regional at The Meadows by 23 strokes.
Other individuals of note: Seven of last season’s top 10 are back this weekend. Rochester junior Savannah Haque was last year’s runner-up and also a key contributor when her team won Division 1 in 2016. Utica Eisenhower sophomore Ariel Chang tied Anci Dy for sixth last season, and Brighton senior Annie Pietila came in eighth and will play at the Finals for the fourth time. Ann Arbor Pioneer sophomore Amaya Melendez also had a big debut in 2017, tying for ninth. She joined Anika Dy and Schulz among Regional champs last week, along with Hartland senior Sydney Bradford, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek senior Domitille Chambon and Grosse Pointe South sophomore Audrey Becker. Brighton sophomore Maggie Pietila came in second to Bradford at Hartland Glen, with her 75 one of the lowest Regional scores division-wide as well.
LP Division 2 at Michigan State's Forest Akers West
Top-ranked: 1. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, 2. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 3. Bloomfield Hills Marian.
Forest Hills Northern won its first championship last fall since 1982 and was ranked No. 1 all this season until Monday. Reeths-Puffer is shooting not only for its first championship, but first top-two finish after missing the latter by just a stroke a year ago. Marian was last season’s runner-up, achieving its first top-two finish, and could take another step this weekend as well.
Muskegon Reeths-Puffer: Karina VanDuinen was third at last year’s Final and Avery Howard was sixth, and they with also-returning senior Emma Veihl and junior Abby Fansler give the Rockets one of the most tournament-tested teams in the field. Scarier yet, freshman Karlie VanDuinen led the way at the Regional with her winning 70 the second-lowest score last week in the entire division as the team shot a 310 to best Forest Hills Northern. Older sister Karina won the Division 2 individual championship as a freshman in 2015, and Howard also placed as a sophomore in 2016.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern: Senior Kay Zubkus and sophomores Lilia Henkel and Anna Fay are back from the team that won last season’s championship by 13 strokes – Henkel finishing seventh and Zubkus tying for 10th individually. The Huskies finished seventh strokes back of Reeths-Puffer last week at Grand Rapids’ Thornapple Pointe, with Zubkus second, Henkel third and Fay tied for sixth. Zubkus’ 72 was the third-lowest Regional score division-wide.
Bloomfield Hills Marian: Reigning Finals individual champion Shannon Kennedy leads four players back from last season’s second-place finisher as they look to make program history. She shot a two-round 146 last season as a freshman to clear the field by three strokes, and she was the Regional medalist at Huron Meadows in Brighton last week by two strokes with a 77. Zink, a senior, and Hudson, a junior, took fifth and tied for sixth, respectively, at the Regional, and sophomore Lauren Sass had the second-best score among the team’s returnees at last year’s Final.
More individuals of note: St. Joseph senior Cailey Rooker finished ninth last season and fourth as a sophomore, and won last week’s Regional at Coldwater Golf Course by seven strokes shooting an 80. Okemos freshman Allison Cui is shooting under par for the season and won last week’s Regional at The Emerald in St. Johns with a 69, 13 strokes ahead of the field. Petoskey junior Ashley Lamb and South Lyon senior Julia Vess also earned Regional championships.
LP Division 3 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers East
Top-ranked: 1. Flint Powers Catholic, 2. Grand Rapids South Christian, 3. Freeland.
Powers is playing for its first championship since 2008, South Christian for its first since 2009, and Freeland for its first title and first top-two finish ever. Last season’s champion, Macomb Lutheran North, is in Division 4 this fall after finishing three strokes better than the Sailors in 2017. Unranked Spring Lake – third last season but champion for three straight from 2014-16 – shot the division’s lowest Regional score last week, 356.
Flint Powers Catholic: The Chargers finished third in 2016 and fifth last season, and return this weekend with four of their top five from a year ago plus a standout freshman. Sophomore Jolie Brochu tied for eighth at last season’s final and junior Maggie Knight missed the individual top 10 by a stroke in 2016. They led Powers to last week’s Regional title at Owosso Country Club, won with a tie-breaker against Freeland. Brochu finished first individually, Knight was third, with senior Gina Canavesio seventh, freshman Allie Sexton ninth and junior Olivia Canaday 10th.
Grand Rapids South Christian: The Sailors are headed to the Finals for the 23rd straight season and just missed another title a year ago as now-senior Natalie Samdal finished fourth individually to lead the way. Junior Maddie Wieringa and senior Ashley Keen also were part of that runner-up Finals effort, and all three finished among the top 10 as South Christian won last week’s Regional at Pigeon Creek in West Olive with a 363.
Freeland: Senior Olivia Pumford took 10th at last season’s Final as an individual qualifier and will be joined this weekend by the rest of the Falcons, who just missed winning the Regional (see above) but still shot what tied for the second-lowest score in the division last week. Pumford took first at the Regional as all five Freeland golfers finished among the top 12; senior Alyssa Argyle was fifth, senior Lily Beyer sixth and sophomore Lydia Beck eighth.
Other individuals of note: Pontiac Notre Dame Prep senior Danielle Staskowski has won the last two Division 3 championships, by eight strokes last fall and in a playoff hole as a sophomore. She shot a 75 last week at Pontiac Country Club to win her Regional by a stroke over Goodrich senior Elizabeth Gibbs. Senior Hannah Klein tied for sixth at the Final last season in leading Spring Lake to its third-place team finish, and she tied for 10th as a sophomore in 2016. She too was a Regional champion last week, as was Hastings junior Rayna Honsowitz, Marshall junior Karlee Malone and Carleton Airport sophomore Kristen Reed.
LP Division 4 at The Meadows at Grand Valley State
Top-ranked: 1. North Muskegon, 2. Harbor Springs, 3. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian.
Harbor Springs is coming off last season’s first MHSAA girls golf championship, an 11-stroke victory. North Muskegon and NorthPointe Christian both are playing for their first titles – NorthPointe finished runner-up in 2013, while North Muskegon is seeking to place among the top two for the first time. Macomb Lutheran North is unranked but won in 2016 and then took first in 2017 in Division 3 – with three players from that team coming back this weekend.
North Muskegon: The Norsemen finished sixth in 2015, 11th in 2016 and fourth a year ago, and will go after their first title with all five scorers back from last season’s team. Senior Abby Grevel tied for eighth individually at the 2017 Final, and she’s joined by three more seniors and a sophomore. They won last week’s Regional at The Mines in Grand Rapids with a 344, 11 strokes better than the field, with Grevel second, senior Lindsay Bliss third and sophomore Georgie Kersman seventh.
Harbor Springs: Four of last season’s top five are back seeking a repeat run, with senior Madi Bezilla leading after tying for third individually a year ago. The team’s top four last season all shot within 10 strokes of one another at the Final, and that balance reigns as the Rams shot the division’s lowest Regional score last week, 353, with all four scorers between 80-90. Bezilla was first, junior Evie Garver was second, sophomore Jacque O’Neill was third and senior Callie O’Neill came in eighth.
Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian: The Mustangs are looking to make a jump from 13th last season and third at last week’s Regional, which also included No. 5 Kalamazoo Hackett in the runner-up spot after North Muskegon. Three of last season’s top five lead the way, with sophomore Sabrina Langerak coming in fourth and junior Lauren Slottke fifth at the Regional.
Other individuals of note: Six of last season’s top 10 will be back this weekend, led by reigning champion Alissa Fish of Brooklyn Columbia Central. She won by two strokes last year as a junior, and claimed last week’s Regional title at Concord Hills by eight strokes. Jackson Lumen Christi senior Hillary Ziemba tied for third last year, Shepherd senior Morgan Yates tied for sixth, and Kalamazoo Hackett senior Emily Stull was 10th. All three won Regional titles last week, as did Macomb Lutheran North senior Kaity Rittner – who finished fifth in LPD3 in 2017.
PHOTOS: (Top) Traverse City West’s Anika Dy unloads a drive during last season’s LPD1 Final. (Middle) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s Danielle Staskowski stands at the front of the line of top individual finishers in LPD3 in 2017. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)