Title IX at 50: Warner Paved Way to Legend Status with Record Rounds
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 5, 2021
Girls golf teams across the Lower Peninsula have begun postseason play with Regionals this week, with a Monday tournament featuring the last two Division 1 Finals champions – 2020 winner Kate Brody of Grand Blanc shooting a 67 to edge 2019 medalist Allison Cui of Okemos by four strokes. The Oct. 15-16 Finals rematch at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University is sure to be a classic.
Brody’s 67 also recalls the unforgettable closing round fired by then-Livonia Churchill sophomore Shannon Warner on the way to winning the first of her back-to-back LPD1 championships during the Spring 2006 season.
Warner’s second-round 67 that June 3 followed a first-round 69 and tied the Finals record 18-hole score shot by Whitehall’s Laura Kueny on the same course in LPD3 a year earlier. But Warner’s combined 136 broke Kueny’s 36-hole Finals record, also set the year before, by one stroke.
Warner was an individual Finals qualifier in 2006, and she bested the field by 11 strokes. She also was an individual qualifier in Spring 2007 when she shot a 145 at Forest Akers West to win by five. Girls golf in the Lower Peninsula then was switched to the fall, and Warner returned to the Division 1 Finals four months after her second championship and tied for fifth, four strokes back.
Warner played her first three collegiate seasons at Michigan State University and finished her college career in 2012 at Eastern Michigan University, earning first-team all-Mid-American Conference honors as a senior. She won the Golf Association of Michigan Women's Championship in 2013.
Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.
Previous Title IX at 50 Spotlights
Sept. 28: Taylor Kennedy Gymnasts Earn Fame as 1st Champions - Read
Sept. 21: Portage Northern Star Byington Becomes Play-by-Play Pioneer - Read
Sept. 14: Guerra/Groat Legacy Continues to Serve St. Philip Well - Read
Sept. 7: Best-Ever Conversation Must Include Leland's Glass - Read
Aug. 31: We Will Celebrate Many Who Paved the Way - Read
Kingsford, Marquette's Luke Land Fantastic 1sts, Negaunee's Niskanen Repeats
By
Jack Hall
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2023
HARRIS – There's a first time for everything.
That old saying was certainly proved true Wednesday afternoon during the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1 Girls Golf Final at the steamy Sage Run Golf Course.
The firsts? A U.P. championship for Kingsford High School, and a hole-in-one for Marquette junior Abigail Luke.
The Flivvers took home the team trophy for the first time in school history by topping the leaderboard with 412 strokes, seven clear of second-place Escanaba (419) and 22 ahead of third-place Negaunee (434).
It was a dream come true, said junior Bryonna Sanders, who was the individual runner-up shooting a 99.
“It feels pretty awesome,” Sanders said. “We came out here yesterday (for practice) and we put out a full effort. I think with our team spirit and pushing each other, we did pretty well.
“I didn't really have a game plan, but I went off with my nine-hybrid on every hole. … My driver wasn't hitting it today. Just have to wing it, and golf does its thing!”
Luke’s hole-in-one came midway through the front nine.
“It's crazy,” Luke said. “I was really upset about my last couple holes, but then I made a hole-in-one! It was just tears of joy. I haven't done it before. I was 99 yards away, and so I took my 50-degree (club) which I knew could go 95. And then I rolled it in. I could see it right from where I was! I was speechless when it happened.”
Luke ended up shooting a 101, which tied her for fourth with Escanaba freshman Kamrie Scott. Eskymos senior Sierra Scott was one stroke further back at 102.
The repeat medalist was Negaunee senior Rachel Niskanen, but she wasn't thrilled about how she got to her victory this time – even though she won by seven strokes over Sanders in firing a 92. Niskanen has routinely shot in the 70s and 80s all spring long.
“Honestly, it was a really rough day out there for me,” Niskanen said. “I was having a hard time hitting my irons, and it was probably one of the worst rounds of my whole spring season. But, I mean, a win's a win, I guess!
“I had a lot of fun with Negaunee golf. They do a really good job, putting on tournaments. Overall, I shot pretty well this season, mostly pars and birdies. But today was just a rough day.”
Kingsford had three of the top 10 individual finishers, with Grace Maki (tied for sixth, 102) and Ella Rizzo (tied for 10th, 105) joining Sanders at the top of the leaderboard.
In all, there were nine schools and 47 golfers playing in the event, which took roughly five-and-a-half hours.
Marquette finished fourth, followed by Menominee, Calumet, Sault Ste. Marie, Houghton, and Westwood.
PHOTOS (Top) Kingsford celebrates its first Upper Peninsula Finals team championship Wednesday at Sage Run. (Middle) Sault Ste. Marie’s Liliana Gutierrez putts during her Division 1 round. (Below) Marquette’s Abigail Luke. (Photos by Jack Hall.)