Onekama
falls short of bid for state finals
Manistee
News Advocate STAFF REPORTS
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Onekama, as a team, and Brethren’s two
individual golfers were unable to qualify for state competition Thursday
while competing in one of Michigan’s toughest Division 4 regional events
at Mistwood Golf Course.
Onekama finished the 18-hole round with a combined 370, taking seventh
out of 12 teams — four of which rank among the top 10 teams in the
state.
No. 3-ranked Traverse City St. Francis took top honors with a 322, while
Harbor Springs followed with a 325, and the events’ host, No. 8 Glen
Lake, took the final qualifying spot with a 329.
“It was a fantastic season — one that I hated to see come to a
conclusion,” said Portagers’ coach Mary Jo Zadow. “The only
disappointment I had was seeing the individual team members today being
disappointed that they didn’t play better. It was the toughest region in
the state across all four divisions. Given that circumstance, as a
coach, I can’t be the least bit disappointed in Onekama’s finish as
seventh.”
Onekama senior Levi Capper led Onekama’s
efforts with an 86, which tied for 20th place among the 70-plus golfers
at the event.
Portagers’ Jake Matthews shot a 91, Brenner Johnson shot a 96, and Drew
Griswold finished with a 97.
Seniors Capper and Griswold finish their high school careers short of
state-qualifying scores, but were part of a Portager team that Zadow
calls the best Onekama has had.
“We will sorely miss both Levi and Drew,” Zadow said. “It truly was a
fantastic season.
“We ended on a good note,” she said of the team’s district qualifying
scores, adding that one of the season’s high notes came when setting a
9-hole school record with a 157 on the back nine of the Heathlands Golf
Course, in a match against Manistee High School on May 13.
Brethren’s Roger Mullet and Patrick Spalding, who also played Thursday,
shot a 86 and 96 respectively. |
“It was kind of rainy and misty all day,”
Bobcats’ coach Tom Anderson said. “But, I thought the kids stuck in
there all day and tried not to let the weather bother them at all.
“The kids seemed to hit the ball off the tee really well today,” he
added. “But, they had troubles around the green. The Mistwood greens
were pretty fast today — a little faster than we’ve played on for most
of the season — so, they had some troubles with three-putting and
didn’t score as well as we hoped they would.
“This regional was so strong, with four of the top 10 teams in the state
there,” Anderson added. “The last couple years when we played in the
regional, 86 would have been maybe two away from qualifying.”
The good news for both Onekama and Brethren
is the number of returning players they’ll have next year.
Brethren’s Mullet and Spalding will be back for the Bobcats’ while
Johnson and Matthews will return for the Portagers.
“Almost all the other guys are returning,” Anderson said of next years’
team. “Plus, I know of three eighth graders who have played quite a bit
of golf to this point and hopefully they’ll be able to step up ... and
so with some good freshmen and the other guys on the team improving from
this year, we should get back in the race with Onekama and (Manistee)
Catholic Central who had very fine seasons this year.”
In other regional action, Manistee High School’s Greg Olsen competed at
the Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids in Division 3 competition.
“Greg teed off on number eight and pared the first hole,” Manistee coach
Mike Swanson said. “So, he got off to a good start, but after that it
kind of went down hill.”
Olsen ended the round with a 105, missing out on qualifying for state in
his senior season.
“He participated, and he did his best,” Swanson said. “So, I was really
proud of Greg.”
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