St. Francis' Slocum Dazzles, Kalamazoo Christian Completes Spectacular Rise
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
October 19, 2024
EAST LANSING — High school basketball season may not have started yet, but Traverse City St. Francis senior Grace Slocum might have recorded the best slam dunk of the prep sports season thus far during the second round of the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Girls Golf Finals.
Playing the par-4 sixth hole at Forest Akers West, Slocum hit a long drive down the fairway and said she faced a second shot from roughly 40 yards out.
Taking out a 56-degree wedge, Slocum hit an approach that didn’t touch one blade of grass on the green. The ball went straight into the hole on the fly for an eagle.
LeBron James probably couldn’t have dunked it any better on the basketball court.
“I’ve had eagles before, but I’ve never dunked one quite like that far,” Slocum said. “It just went right in.’
It was the signature shot during a brilliant round for Slocum, who shot a 3-under par round of 69 on Saturday to earn the individual title. Slocum followed a 75 on Friday’s first day with the 69 for a total of 144, in the process preventing potential history.
Ann Arbor Greenhills senior Mia Melendez was aiming to become the first Lower Peninsula golfer to win four Finals individual titles. But a combination of her being just a bit off and Slocum’s terrific play thwarted those aspirations.
Melendez ended up third with a two-day total of 156 (81-75).
“I play with Mia all the time in the summer, and she’s an amazing person and an amazing golfer,” said Slocum, who was competing in her fourth Final and has committed to play in college for Wisconsin. “She’s played amazing the past three times. Of course, she didn’t play as well the past few days. But it’s golf, and I’m really excited to have won it.”
Brooklyn Columbia Central senior Logan Bentley was second behind Slocum with a total of 149 (74-75).
In the team competition, Kalamazoo Christian made history by winning its first Finals championship in girls golf.
After finishing as runner-up last year, the Comets took the next step with a two-day score of 732 (367-365).
“I think it started with this particular team four years ago with the freshman class that we had at the time that are seniors today,” Kalamazoo Christian head coach Mike Schield said. “We knew we were going to have an opportunity with them if we did our job to encourage them to keep playing and keep participating. Just to keep looking for ways to improve. They all stuck to it, all four of them. Two of them who played today in the top four were beginners four years ago. They’ve had quite a trajectory.”
Kalamazoo Christian was led by senior Jordyn Bonnema, who shot a two-day score of 157 (78-79) to place fourth individually. She was followed by senior Kennedy Gernaat, who finished with a 181 (88-93) to tie for 10th.
“Kennedy and Jordyn just bring a ton of leadership and experience to this team and really led the way this season and last year,” Schield said. “Just the entire process. It was fun to watch.”
The Comets slept Friday night on an eight-stroke lead over Lansing Catholic and a nine-shot advantage on Brooklyn Columbia Central, and didn’t flinch the second in pulling away from the field.
Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian was runner-up with a final total of 748 (381-367), securing second place over Columbia Central (376-372) via the fifth-golfer tiebreaker.
Lansing Catholic was two shots behind in fourth place with a 750 (375-375).
“We just felt really comfortable this whole weekend,” Schield said.
PHOTOS (Top) Traverse City St. Francis’ Grace Slocum follows through on a swing during Saturday’s second round at Forest Akers West. (Middle) Kalamazoo Christian’s Scarlett Hindbaugh watches the flight of one of her shots. (Below) Columbia Central's Logan Bentley watches one of her putts during her runner-up finish.(Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Standout Pair Cards Personal Bests to Lead Mercy's Repeat Title Charge
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
October 21, 2023
EAST LANSING – Farmington Hills Mercy might have had a lead going into the second round of the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Girls Golf Final at Forest Akers East, but longtime head coach Vicky Kowalski had quite a quandary.
Kowalski didn’t have her No. 1 player, junior Maeve Casey, available to play.
Casey shot a team-best 73 and was in second place individually after the first day, but wasn’t even in the state for the second day.
“She’s a Triple AAA hockey player for Little Caesars,” Kowalski said. “She got on a plane last night to go to a hockey tournament (in Minnesota). We had to put a sub in.”
But not even not having its top player couldn’t stop Mercy from achieving some program history.
Thanks to other players stepping up, Mercy won its fourth Finals title overall and repeated as champion for the first time in Kowalski’s 47 years as head coach.
The Marlins finished with a two-day score of 636, 17 shots ahead of Catholic League rival Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood.
Mason was third with 657.
The Marlins entered the day with an 8-shot lead over Cranbrook. The Mercy player who made up for the loss of Casey the most was senior Abby Slankster, who shot a 2-under-par round of 70, a round Kowalski said was her all-time best.
Kowalski said junior Macy Morphew also shot her best score, contributing an 81 to the cause.
Junior Lila Polakowski shot a 79 and senior Brinley Nay added an 89 for Mercy during the second round.
“I’m just so happy that our girls played so well today,” Kowalski said.
In outlasting Cranbrook, Mercy capped off a season that featured a lot of back-and-forth between the two teams.
“Some of the tournaments we went to, we’d be ahead, and some they’d be ahead,” Kowalski said.
Cranbrook moved up to Division 2 this year after winning the Division 3 championship in 2021 and finishing runner-up last year.
Sophomore Sydney Behnke led Cranbrook with a two-day total of 156 (75-81), while senior Mackenzie Behnke was right behind at 157 (79-78).
“When we moved up to D2, we thought we would be able to compete,” Cranbrook head coach John Minnich said. “We did compete. It was not the finish we hoped for. Mercy beat us at the Catholic League championship, and they beat us at Regionals. They’ve been just a little bit better than us all year.
“I’m really proud of my team. They played great.”
Also playing great was Coopersville senior Lauren Davis, who was the medalist with identical scores of 70 for a two-day total of 140 in chilly and rainy conditions.
Davis finished four shots ahead of Dexter sophomore Avery Manning.
“My putting was super solid,” Davis said. “That was the biggest help for me.”
Davis capped off her career winning it all after finishing fifth last year.
“My state tournaments have been weird,” she said. “My first year we had only one day (because of a COVID-19 format change). My second states’ year I was playing great and was at the top, but then on my third-to-last hole I had a 10. Last year, I had one bad round. It’s good to put it all together this year.”
PHOTOS (Top) Farmington Hills Mercy's Abby Slankster drives during Saturday's second round at the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final. (Middle) Coopersville's Lauren Davis celebrates her medalist honor. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)