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.

Coopersville's Lauren Davis celebrates her medalist honor.“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.”

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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.) 

NorthPointe Pulls Away for 1st Girls Golf Title

October 19, 2019

By Tim Robinson
Special for Second Half

BATTLE CREEK — For Sabrina Langerak, a reversion to form made all the difference for Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian at the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Girls Golf Final on Saturday at Bedford Valley Golf Club.

Langerak, a junior, shot 88 in Friday’s first round after averaging 77 strokes during the season.

On Saturday, her 77 lifted the Mustangs to their first-ever Finals championship. After ending Friday three strokes behind two-time reigning champion Harbor Springs, NorthPointe won the title Saturday by five strokes. 

“(Friday), I was swinging too fast and missed a lot of putts,” Langerak said. “Today, I took my time a lot more and thought about my putts more.”

The championship was a family effort for the Langeraks. Brian Langerak is the coach, and his two daughters, Sabrina and senior Hannah, played key roles this season,

“We take a lot of golf home with us,” Brian said, smiling.

NorthPointe and Harbor Springs were neck-and-neck throughout the day.

“We knew (Friday) it was a two-horse race, because we had a 20(plus)-stroke lead on the field,” Brian Langerak said referring to his team and Harbor Springs. “We got out to a great start, but it came down to the end. It was almost like match play out there. We knew we were in the running, but we also knew it was very close, down to the last couple of holes.”

For the Rams, it marked the end of play for a stellar senior class that included Evie Garver, Mackenzie Gillette and Maggie Bailey.

“(They) were runners-up in the state twice and won two state championships,” Harbor Springs coach Pete Kelbel said. “So, we’ll go home happy.”

The Rams also went home with medalist honors, with Jacque O’Neill edging Wixom St. Catherine’s Sara Haupt in a one-hole playoff after both finished at 164. Sabrina Langerak just missed out, carding a 165.

Both got onto the green in three on the first playoff hole, the 419-yard par-4 No. 16, but Haupt missed with her first putt and O’Neill then prepared for her putt.

“I was a little nervous, but I was trying not to think about it too much,” O’Neill said.

She said she was prepared for No. 16, which was the first of what would have been three playoff holes had the tie remained.

“I was just trying to play it like I had the last few days, because I’ve played that hole pretty well throughout,” she said. “I just tried to hit my spots.”

A junior, O’Neill also was a major part of Harbor Springs’ team success the last three seasons.

“We’re a little disappointed, but we’re happy for Northpointe Christian,” she said. “We’re looking forward to next year.”

Haupt, a junior, was happy with her weekend.

“I wasn’t expecting to do as well as I did,” she said. “I had low expectations. I had never gone to states before. I just wanted to try my best and have fun.”

Afterward, the NorthPointe Christian players and parents posed for a team picture, with Hannah Langerak keeping the trophy firmly in her grip.

“It’s amazing,” the senior said, “because I got to practice with my dad and sister all the time and play with them all summer.”

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PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian celebrates its first MHSAA Finals championship in girls golf Saturday. (Middle) Harbor Springs’ Jacque O’Neill putts during a playoff hole; she won the hole and the individual championship. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)