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.)
Record-Tying Champ Drives Marian Repeat
October 17, 2020
By Jason Schmitt
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING — Shannon Kennedy is one of the most accomplished high school golfers the state of Michigan has ever seen.
She’s also one heck of a basketball player.
So when she stared down perhaps the most important putt of her high school career Saturday afternoon at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Girls Golf Final, she had just one thing on her mind.
“I got up to that putt and, honestly, it looked like a basketball hoop,” said Kennedy, a senior at Bloomfield Hills Marian. “I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m missing this. I had the feeling it was going in.”
Without a doubt, Kennedy made the birdie putt on the 16th hole, which forced a playoff with Grand Rapids Christian senior Ryann Breslin. Kennedy then went on to defeat Breslin in a one-hole playoff, ripping her tee shot nearly 300 yards and tapping in for a championship-clinching par putt.
The title was Kennedy’s third, tying her with five others for most Lower Peninsula girls golf championships won during a career.
“I love this hole,” said Kennedy, speaking of the 319-yard par-4 first hole at Forest Akers East. “It kind of fits my eye. I planned on drawing it off that tree back there, and that’s exactly what I did.”
In addition to adding to her individual hardware, Kennedy helped her Marian team claim its second-consecutive team championship. The Mustangs shot 312 as a team and had four golfers shoot 82 or better, all finishing among the top 20.
Kennedy’s 2-under 70 led the way.
“That’s how you have to win these,” Marian assistant coach Dave Sass said. “You can have a really good player like Shannon Kennedy, but if you don’t have four other supporting cast members, then you’re not going to win it. Everyone did a great job. I’m proud of them.”
Senior Lauren Sass just missed medaling, firing a 79 and finishing 12th overall for Marian. Senior Sarah Kuredjian had an 81, and junior Ashley Carroll was close behind with her round of 82.
Breslin was at or near the top of the leaderboard all day long. She finished with a pair of birdies to card a 70. That gave her a 1-stroke lead in the clubhouse.
But Kennedy had one hole to play. And she made the most of it. Her drive on No. 16 just missed the fairway, and her approach shot missed deep right and landed on the cart path. After receiving relief, she hit a pitch to within 20 feet before sinking the putt.
“It was the best up and down I’ve ever had in my life,” she said.
Macomb Lutheran North posted a team score of 327 to finish runner-up. The Mustangs finished second to Marian at the Catholic High School League championships as well, and struggled to a third-place finish in their region.
“We played great all season, and then at the Regional we had our worst day,” Lutheran North head coach John Bergmann said. “So we bore down this past week and said, ‘You know what, we deserve better than this.’ We put a lot of work in over the last 8-9 days. I’m very happy with their performance today.”
Freshman Lauren Timpf led her team with a 1-under 71. She narrowly missed joining Kennedy and Breslin in the playoff. Sophomore Taylor Elias had a 76, and sophomore Aileen Cosentino and senior Julia Zauel added an 88 and 92, respectively, to cap the scoring for Lutheran North.
Grand Rapids South Christian, led by freshman Ashley Thomasma’s 75, finished third overall at 330. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood was fourth with a 340, followed by Flint Powers Catholic (346).
Frankenmuth’s Ella Smith also shot a 76 and tied for fifth among individuals. Grosse Ile’s Lily Bargamian and Whitehall’s Karli Vanduinen each shot 77 to tie for seventh overall, and Cranbrook’s Ashley Cong, Powers Catholic’s Jolie Brochu and Ada Forest Hills Eastern’s Hailey Curry all had 78s to round out the top 10.
PHOTOS: (Top) Bloomfield Hills Marian’s Shannon Kennedy putts for the win on the playoff hole at the Division 3 Final on Saturday. (Middle) East Grand Rapids’ Ryann Breslin chips onto the green during the playoff. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)