Onekama shooting for 1st trip to state
finals
Brethren’s Mullet and Spalding, Manistee’s Olsen looking to
advance as individuals
By MATT WENZEL
Sports Editor
MANISTEE — Onekama has never been to the state finals as a team.
Although coach Mary Jo Zadow said the current group of Portagers is the
best team the school has ever had, she also knows her squad will have
its hands full today.
The Division 4 regional event at Mistwood Golf Course in Lake Ann will
feature four of the top 10 teams in the state with No. 3 Traverse City
St. Francis, No. 8 Glen Lake, No. 9 Suttons Bay and No. 10 Inland Lakes.
The top three teams in the regional advance to the state finals, while
the top three individuals not a part of a qualifying team will also
advance.
“St. Francis is in a class all by itself,” Zadow said.
However, Zadow said her golfers certainly aren’t lacking the talent
required of advancing to the state finals.
“I guess I would go as far as to say this is the strongest group of
individuals to form a team that Onekama has had in our history of having
a golf team,” she said.
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Onekama will send seniors Levi Capper and Drew Griswold, juniors Jake
Matthews and Brenner Johnson, along with sophomore Skyler Kimpel to
today’s regional.
“If we can’t qualify the team, then maybe one of the individuals will
get hot and qualify as an individual to go,” Zadow saidAs a team,
Brethren’s season is done, but juniors Roger Mullet and Patrick Spalding
qualified as individuals for the regional event at Mistwood.
“They’re very capable of shooting scores that would qualify them for the
state meet,” Brethren coach Tom Anderson said. “They’re going to have a
chance, but they’re going to have to shoot as well as they have with
some of their better scores of the season to qualify. It’s going to be
very difficult.”
It will be Spalding’s third trip to the regional and Mullet’s second. As
a freshman, Spalding qualified as an individual, while the Bobcats made
it as a team last year.
The two Bobcats played a practice round at Mistwood on Monday and
Spalding said he’s got a feeling of what kind of number it will take to
move on.
“I’m thinking mid- to high-70s will get there,” he said.
Also playing as an individual today will be Manistee senior Greg Olsen,
who will play in a Division 3 regional at Katke Golf Course in Big
Rapids. Olsen and fellow senior Casey Hogan both qualified, but Manistee
coach Mike Swanson said Hogan will not play today because of personal
reasons. Olsen shot a 97 last week in the district round and won a
playoff to advance to the regional.
“Greg knows he has to play better,” Swanson said. “But it’s an honor to
get there and play. It’s the same thing we’ve been talking about all
year — have fun and play by the rules.” |