Standouts Lead Mountaineers to D2 Peak
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 29, 2013
NORWAY — There was no question the individual winner was going to be from Iron Mountain High School at the end of Wednesday's MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 2 Girls Golf Final.
It was just a matter of which one.
Senior Katelynn Johnson and sophomore Cassie Feira shared the lead after 18 holes with 96 strokes apiece at Oak Crest Golf Course, forcing a sudden-death playoff hole on this sunny and warm day.
Johnson then became the overall winner by edging Feira on the first playoff hole.
"In my 15 years of coaching, that's the first time I've seen this happen," Iron Mountain coach Don Bianco said. "This was very unique. To have this happen was very special. Both girls played well. Katelynn just had better luck getting out of the sand trap during the playoff hole."
The Mountaineers also were crowned team champions for the first time since 2004 with 421 strokes. They were followed by Ironwood with 458 and Manistique at 466.
"The girls really deserve this," Bianco said. "This is a tough group of kids. They're willing to practice in all conditions. Plus, if they have one bad hole, they move on and grind it out."
This marked the first U.P. title for Johnson, who also was crowned Mid-Peninsula Conference champion last week and found being in a playoff with her teammate to be quite interesting and nerve-wracking.
"The pressure was on," said Johnson, who will attend Northern Michigan University this fall to major in nursing. "I couldn't have put the ball on the tee at first. I was so nervous. I was just shaking and everybody was watching. I don't think I have ever been that nervous in my life.
“I had a pretty decent drive, then both of us ended up in a sand trap and it took me two shots to get out. It was a relief to get out of there. After that I wasn't shaking anymore."
Once out of the sand trap, Johnson two-putted for the win.
"It was very nerve-wracking," Feira said. "I felt she should win because she's a senior. This the first time I shot under 100. I was happy to break that. I thought the back nine was easier than the front nine. I ended up in sand traps a lot in the front nine.
“As a team, we practiced a lot last week on chipping and putting, which are things I needed to work on. We also played 18 holes a few times and that helped a lot. The weather was better today, too. We didn't have to wear all the layers we did last week."
Feira's thoughts on playing extra rounds at Oak Crest were similar to Bianco's.
"I think coming here a couple times last week enabled the girls to get more comfortable with the course," he said. "Having a strong senior group also helped."
Alyssa Norback of L'Anse placed third at 97. She was followed by Ironwood senior Korrie Trier at 100 and Norway senior Shelby Matonich at 104.
PHOTOS: (Top) Iron Mountain's Katelynn Johnson studies a putt during Wednesday's U.P. Division 2 Final; she won the individual championship in a one-hole playoff. (Middle) Norway's Paige Sheski tees off during her round at Oak Crest Golf Course. (Photos by Theresa Proudfit.)
Bark River-Harris Takes Championship Steps with Team, Individual Sweep
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
May 29, 2024
CRYSTAL FALLS --- Bark River-Harris went home from last year’s Upper Peninsula Division 2 Girls Golf Final with some hardware. Just not the kind the Broncos wanted.
After finishing third the year before, they earned the runner-up trophy at the 2023 championship tournament, and Ava McDonough also took home a runner-up finish.
This year at Young’s Golf Course, the Broncos won the team title and McDonough took the medalist honor.
“It’s pretty great. We’ve been working for it for three years now, and it feels really good to finally accomplish it,” she said. “Last year we got second. I got second individually.
“I mean second’s good, but first is better.”
It was really good for the Broncos’ entire team, which won their first U.P. title since claiming back-to-back Division 3 championships in 2014 and 2015. They finished a dozen strokes fewer than runner-up West Iron County (451). Norway was third, Stephenson fourth and Munising fifth.
“It’s amazing,” Broncos coach Matt Sly said. “I’ve been with these girls now, this is our third year. We took third three years ago, second last year. They worked really hard this year, and they were able to do it.”
McDonough carded a 101 to earn the medalist honor.
“My drives were pretty good, and my chipping I did good,” she said. “My putting was not very good. That was the only thing that really killed me. Otherwise, it was all pretty good.”
Sly said she's been playing well this entire season.
“She’s just an all-around good player,” he said. “She’s good off the tee, she has good short game and she was able to put it all together today.”
McDonough finished just one stroke ahead of teammate Ella Boney, who was runner-up with a 102.
“She played exceptionally well today,” Sly said of Boney. “She was several strokes better than her average.”
Munising’s Jailen Hancock and West Iron County’s Addison Franzene both carded 105 to tie for third. The Wykons’ Kya Dallavalle finished fifth with a 108.
McDonough said improvement over the last year has been about hard work, practice, helping each other out and not getting down when things went badly.
“Four of the five are seniors,” Sly said of McDonough, Boney, Zailey Cortez – who placed 13th – and Melody Racicot. Sophomore Dakota Bridges took 16th. “They’ve been waiting for this for a while.”
PHOTOS (Top) Bark River-Harris Ava McDonough tees off on No. 17 at Wednesday's Division 2 Final at Young's Golf Course. (Middle) West Iron County's Kya Dallavalle putts on No. 17. (Photos by Jason Juno.)