Preview: Finals Filled with Opportunity
October 19, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Five of 12 teams occupying top-three spots in this week’s Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association state polls have never won an MHSAA championship.
That fact alone sets this up to be a weekend of change. But there are other factors to consider heading into the Lower Peninsula Girls Golf Finals.
We’re guaranteed at least one new champion, with reigning Division 4 winner Macomb Lutheran North moving into Division 3 this fall. We’ve also had the same Division 3 winner for three straight seasons – Spring Lake – and a number of contenders will join Lutheran North in trying to put an end to that streak.
Divisions 1 and 2 feature four of the five teams noted above that have never won at this highest level. But in Division 2 at least, a returning champ is expected to reign again – Midland Dow is back as the favorite after claiming its first title just a year ago.
See below for golfers to watch at all four MHSAA Finals this weekend, and come back Saturday evening for coverage of all four championship tournaments on Second Half. Click for a list of all Finals qualifiers and Regional scores from last week.
LP Division 1 at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University
Top-ranked: 1. Saline, 2. Brighton, 3. Northville.
Arguably the best golf in the state this fall has been played in the pocket of Livingston, Oakland and Washtenaw counties home to these contenders. Now, history could follow. Saline’s last championship came in 2010, while Brighton and Northville are seeking a first MHSAA title. Saline did finish fifth a year ago, when Brighton tied for seventh at Forest Akers East, and those two have been the top-ranked teams in Division 1 for the last month.
Saline: The Hornets were third after the first round of last year’s Final and have carried that strong play through this fall. They won their Regional last week at Lake Forest in Ann Arbor by 15 strokes ahead of Northville and third-place, No. 4-ranked Plymouth. Saline’s lineup of five seniors included four who finished among the top 13, led by medalist Catherine Loftus (76), fifth-place Molly Pribble and sixth-place Sydney Page. Those three and 13th-place Stephanie Schick were the top four during last season’s Finals weekend as well.
Brighton: The Bulldogs cleared the Regional field at Oak Pointe in Brighton by 30 strokes, shooting a 309. All five players finished among the top 17 individuals, with junior Annie Pietila first at 72, senior Heather Fortushniak second at 76, junior Autumn Blaney fourth and freshman Maggie Pietila tied for fifth. Fortushniak, Pietila, Blaney and Sophie Lowe all were part of last season’s lineup as well.
Northville: As mentioned above, Northville finished second at Lake Forest last week and with two freshmen scoring after the team missed last season’s Final by only two strokes. All five Mustangs finished among the top 28 individuals this time, and only the fifth scorer is a senior. Junior Mariella Simoncini led the way in third place and freshman Nicole Whatley came in fourth against another strong field.
Other individuals of note: Traverse City West junior Anika Dy is the reigning individual champion and also finished runner-up as a freshman, and she leads a team that also could push back into contention after winning the title in 2015. Bloomfield Hills junior Mikaela Schulz was third individually last season, only two stroke back, while Novi senior Abby Livingston is back as an individual qualifier after tying for ninth in 2016. In addition to some of the other likely contenders mentioned above, a pair of freshmen broke 80 at Regionals and could be ones to watch. Utica Eisenhower’s Ariel Chang shot a 73 to win at Twin Lakes in Oakland Township, and Dy’s sister Anci followed Anika shooting a 76 to finish second at their Regional at Sunnybrook in Grandville. Schulz and Farmington Hills Mercy junior Sophie VanderWeele also were Regional medalists last week.
LP Division 2 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley
Top-ranked: 1. Midland Dow, 2. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, 3. St. Joseph.
Midland Dow won last season’s Division 2 Final by 48 strokes – to claim the Chargers’ first MHSAA championship in this sport – and they’ve been ranked No. 1 in every poll this fall. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer steadily has climbed over the course of the season and is seeking its first championship, as is St. Joseph – they finished eighth and fourth, respectively, in 2016.
Midland Dow: Only two of last season’s five golfers are back this fall, but they have plenty of help. Senior Alexis Carras was the Finals runner-up to her older sister Stephanie last fall and finished seventh at Dow’s Regional last week at Midland’s Currie West, and senior Giacomina Fabiano also is back after shooting the team’s third-lowest score during the 2016 title run. Junior teammate Rose Hami came in sixth at this year’s Regional, senior Tatum Matthews also tied for seventh and junior Meghan Killmaster tied for 14th as all five Chargers finished among the top 23.
Muskegon Reeths-Puffer: The Rockets have blasted into the title conversation over the last month and shot the division’s lowest Regional score, 328, in winning last week at Lincoln Golf Club in Muskegon. Reeths-Puffer edged No. 5 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern by four strokes with four players finishing among the top seven – junior Karina VanDuinen was runner-up with a 79, with senior Karlee Hallberg third, junior Avery Howard tied for fourth and sophomore Abby Fansler tied for seventh. VanDuinen was the Finals champion in 2015 as an individual qualifier. Howard was eighth individually at last year’s Final as she, VanDuinen, Hallberg and junior Emma Veihl all were part of the lineup.
St. Joseph: The Bears also were Regional champions, by 15 strokes at Stonehedge North in Augusta, with all five players finishing among the top 19 individuals. Regional medalist Cailey Rooker (76) placed fourth at last season’s Final, while seniors Maddie Wright and Katie Schmidt also were part of the lineup in 2016. Wright was seventh at this year’s Regional.
Other individuals of note: Port Huron senior Megan Randolph and Grosse Pointe North junior Meghan Gallagher tied for sixth at last season’s Final, and Birmingham Seaholm junior Hailey Roovers was ninth. Gallagher and Roovers both won Regional championships last week, as did DeWitt senior Elaina DeRose, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern freshman Lilia Henkel and Alpena senior Courtney Nunneley. South Lyon senior Elizabeth Harding was 10th at the 2015 Final and missed the top 10 last season by a stroke in leading her team to a third-place finish. Bloomfield Hills Marian freshman Shannon Kennedy shot a 78 to finish second to Roovers at their Regional last week at Huron Meadows in Brighton.
LP Division 3 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West
Top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 2. Macomb Lutheran North, 3. Detroit Country Day.
Spring Lake has won the last three LPD3 championships but enters this weekend ranked only No. 8. Cranbrook Kingswood and Country Day were fifth and fourth, respectively, at last year’s Final, and this division got even stronger with reigning LPD4 champion Lutheran North joining the group this fall coming off a 36-stroke title win. Cranbrook Kingswood beat Lutheran North by a stroke in a September match.
Cranbrook Kingswood: The Cranes will bring back the entire lineup this weekend that finished only five strokes out of third place a year ago, including seniors Kate Cao and Carmen Chan, who placed sixth and tied for 10th individually in 2016. They tied for third and finished second, respectively, as the team won its Regional last week at West Shore in Grosse Ile. In addition, junior Katheryn Cohen tied for fifth as all five Cranbrook golfers placed among the top 14.
Lutheran North: The team’s top three Regional shooters – seniors Serena Nguyen and Grace Farquhar and junior Kaity Rittner – all were part of last season’s LPD4 championship lineup, Nguyen finishing fourth and Rittner tying for eighth individually. They’ll return to Forest Akers West, which hosted LPD4 a year ago, and after winning the Regional at Heather Hills in Romeo by four strokes ahead of No. 4 Flint Powers Catholic. Nguyen was the Regional medalist shooting a 70, and Rittner was third.
Country Day: The Yellowjackets were six strokes back of Cranbrook at West Shore with three players among the top nine and four among the top 12. Senior Lucy Liu tied for third at the Regional and junior Kristina Roberts was fifth after both competed at last season’s Final, and Liu is the only senior among the team’s top five. Liu and Roberts also were part of the lineup that finished fourth at the 2015 Final.
Other individuals of note: This is the most loaded individual field this weekend. Including returning LPD4 champion Nguyen and placer Rittner, this Final will feature eight players who were top-10 finishers in 2016. In addition to the Lutheran North pair and Cranbrook’s Cao and Chan, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep junior Danielle Staskowski won the LPD3 individual championship last season after a one-hole playoff. Grand Rapids South Christian junior Natalie Samdal was third, while Spring Lake senior Madelyn Nelson tied for eighth and junior teammate Hannah Klein tied for 10th. Klein and Nelson were first and second at their Regional last week at Katke in Big Rapids, while Samdal, Staskowski (ahead of Chan, Cao and Liu), Marshall sophomore Karlee Malone and Three Rivers senior Erin Taylor also won Regional titles.
LP Division 4 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers East
Top-ranked: 1. Kalamazoo Hackett, 2. Jackson Lumen Christi, 3. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian.
With Lutheran North moving into Division 3, there’s sure to be a new champion – and 2014-15 back-to-back winner Hackett enters as the favorite. Last season’s runner-up Livonia Ladywood also didn’t qualify as a full team, so Hackett is the highest returning placer as well after coming in third in 2016. Lumen Christi came in sixth and NorthPointe Christian was 10th; the Titans are playing for their first girls golf title since 2004, and NorthPointe is seeking its first championship in the sport having fallen two strokes shy in 2013.
Kalamazoo Hackett: Although the Irish graduated last season’s individual co-runner-up, they return the other four golfers who played on that third-place team. Hackett won its Regional at Milham Park in Kalamazoo by 14 strokes ahead of NorthPointe Christian and 17 ahead of No. 4-ranked North Muskegon, with those four returning golfers all placing among the top nine. Junior Emily Stull led the way in second, while junior Jessie Wenzel was fourth and lone senior Molly Clark tied for fifth.
Lumen Christi: Similar to Hackett, five of six players from last season’s Finals lineup (including both who split the fifth spot) are back for this weekend. Senior Geraldine Berkemeier missed the individual top 10 last year by two strokes, but she finished second to junior teammate Hillary Ziemba at last week’s Regional at The Medalist in Marshall. The Titans won by 23 strokes ahead of a field that also advanced No. 8 East Jackson and No. 10 Napoleon.
NorthPointe Christian: The Mustangs also bring back an experienced group, with four starters from last year’s Final in the lineup and joined by a standout freshman. Four NorthPointe golfers placed between fifth and ninth at the Regional at Milham Park, with junior Annelies Kraayeveld coming in fifth and freshman Sabrina Langerak next on the team in seventh.
Other individuals of note: This could be a wide-open race. With Macomb Lutheran North moving to LPD3, Livonia Ladywood senior Gabriella Scopone is the only returning top-10 finisher from last season after she tied for eighth. In addition to Lumen Christi’s Ziemba, Scopone also won a Regional last week as did Brooklyn Columbia Central junior Alissa Fish, North Muskegon junior Abby Grevel, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart senior Ayesha Mohan and Manistee senior Alice Fink-Jensen. Stull’s 82 to follow up Grevel’s 79 at Milham Park was among the five lowest Regional scores in all of LPD4, as was Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest junior Grace VanDellen’s 82 to finish second to Scopone’s 81 at Eagle Crest in Ypsilanti. Fish shot an 80 to win at Concord Hills.
PHOTO: Macomb Lutheran North's Serena Nguyen lines up a putt during last season's LPD4 Final; her team finished first and will try to win again this season in LPD3. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Hartland's Rohrhoff Inspires with Golf Success as She Aspires to Encourage Others
By
Tom Lang
Special for MHSAA.com
October 27, 2026
Payton Rohrhoff showed up early in life, being born 10 weeks earlier than doctors expected.
She’s not sure if her premature birth led to her cerebral palsy, but her life-long physical condition certainly did not keep her from showing up early in junior golf as well. And the Hartland junior has continued to handle her challenges very well on and off the golf course, notably tying for eighth at the Oct. 16-17 Lower Peninsula Division 1 Golf Final.
Cerebral palsy has caused Rohrhoff’s right leg to be shorter and retain less muscle mass than her left leg – which makes it more difficult for a right-handed golfer to push off with her right side to create maximum power.
Yet, the high school junior has held Hartland’s No. 1 position since she joined the girls golf program as a freshman. Another highlight this season was setting a 9-hole school record with a 34 at Dunham Hills in her team’s dual with Brighton. The previous record was 36.
“Coach told me at the beginning of the season what I had to do to break the school record, so it was always in my head at points,” Rohrhoff said. “Getting that school record and doing it by two shots, that happened because I stayed present on each shot. Other times I tried I was probably thinking too far ahead.”
More importantly, Rohrhoff leads not just her team – but highly influences others in the sport and in life – by showing how a difficult physical condition should never stop someone from being kind, brave, enduring and a hard worker.
“I had lots of players, but also a coach come up to me a few times this season to say she thought I was such an inspiration to her and said to keep working hard and keep going,” Rohrhoff said. “Something like that is really important to me, because I really do want to make an impact on other people’s lives.”
Her limp is visible as she walks with an unusual gait that might make it look like she’s in constant pain – but those who watch her compete also experience her genuinely kind spirit, great golf skills and knowledge, her maturity, Christian faith and her bubbling personality (to name just a few positives).
Perhaps a fellow competitor and now great friend, all-state golfer Cam Baker from three-time state champion Northville (who tied for 11th individually at the LPD1 Final), said it best:
“My first time playing with Payton was three years ago in the GAM Jr. Stroke play event,” Baker shared. “Her positive attitude, half-glass full personality was contagious. Not only was she an awesome golfer, but she loved the game, and it showed through that entire day.
“I have learned so much watching her play and spending time with her. She has taught me to always smile and to never take things for granted. She is constantly working on getting better and stronger. Payton is the true definition of a go-getter that doesn’t let anything stop her from achieving her dreams.”
Other Rohrhoff highlights from 2026 have included:
- Winning the Regional with a 72 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers East, tying the 18-hole school record.
- Tying for third in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association all-conference standings with a preseason and postseason total of 76-74-150.
- Moving up from 24th in 2025 to that tie for eighth at the LPD1 Final, where her 36-hole score of 155 was the school’s best ever at a Final by 10 shots.
- Winning over the summer her fourth-consecutive Women’s Member Championship at Forest Dunes – which included a hole-in-one on The Loop’s 5th hole.
- Being interviewed on Golf Channel about cerebral palsy when she attended the Folds of Honor Collegiate at American Dunes.
Payton said she’s had at least two surgeries to help with functions hindered by the cerebral palsy. She also wears a 1-inch heel lift in her right shoe.
“The one (surgery) I had when I was 4 years old was pretty small (in scope), but then I grew a bunch so they had to do it again (at age 12), but it was a lot more complicated,” she described. “It was a heel cord lengthening, an extension, because I used to walk straight up on my toe. So, they got me more flat-footed.
“Cerebral palsy is in your brain. You’re born with it. A lot of people are in wheelchairs, or it affects half their body. With some people it affects both their legs. A lot of people, it’s one leg and one arm. For me it’s just my right leg.”
Rohrhoff has never been wheelchair-bound but didn’t walk until she was almost 2 years old.
“My balance on my left leg is definitely better, and my right calf has always been smaller since I had surgery in sixth grade, but I’m going to a strength trainer, and I think that’s helped both sides,” she added. “But I definitely use my left side more than my right.”
Rohrhoff said while other sports she tried didn’t work out, she can walk the golf course with anyone and could do 36 holes in one day if needed. That isn’t typical until college golf, which she would like to play one day.
Hartland coach Ethan Hawker agrees Rohrhoff can reach any goal she pursues.
“She’s an amazing golfer, for any coach,” he said. “She’s a dream. She loves the game. She puts in the time. She’s the kind of teammate that any coach would want. Team culture is a big deal for Hartland. We want to win, don’t get me wrong. But having a group of girls that support each other, that’s what it’s all about.
“Payton defines that every day. She has from the very beginning. She’s the kind of leader I want, and she’s really good at golf.”
Due to lessened power generated from her right side, “I don’t hit it crazy far,” Rohrhoff said. “I have worked a ton on hitting it further (with a strength coach), but I definitely could work more on that, especially before I go into college.”
Rohrhoff said at this point her short game is her strength. Hawker also noted her high golf IQ, and that’s of course a major plus as well.
Rohrhoff’s biggest support system is her parents and her younger sister Morgan, who also plays on the Hartland golf team. They’ve been integral in supporting Payton every step of the way.
Rohrhoff doesn’t appear to worry about what others think of her physical challenges. In fact, most of the time she feels only support from other teenagers, in the same way she wants to be an encouragement to others.
“I’ve made so many friends through golf,” she said. “I’ve met my best friend through this sport. There’s so many great people always there to support me and encourage me to do my best.”
Likewise, she doesn’t hear many whispers from inquisitive others who notice her limp during play.
“But I think my parents hear more of the questions than I do,” she said. “I think other people’s parents ask. Some girls ask me directly, but I think it’s more the parents that notice than the athletes do.
“I just want to use it as something to help me to do what I can to encourage other people. Before, I tried to hide it, but now I think I can definitely encourage people and help them keep working to do their best, no matter what. That started the most when I got to high school. That really showed me that this sport is for me.”
Cam Baker’s father, Casey Baker, quickly observed how Payton positively affects young people like his daughter.
“I immediately noticed her positive attitude and infectious smile,” he said about the first time Rohrhoff played in a match with Cam. “Even after bad shots, she would just brush them off and not let it affect her.
"My daughter has become good friends with Payton, and she’s been such a positive influence. If Payton can go through life not complaining and just dealing with what she does, then what does Cam have to complain about? Payton is such a uniquely positive influence on my daughter and so many other young women."
PHOTOS (Top) Hartland’s Payton Rohrhoff tees off during high school competition. (Middle) Rohrhoff stands next to her bag for a photo. (Below) Rohrhoff watches a putt on its way to the hole. (Action shots by Dan Zeppa. Posed shot courtesy of MI Golf Journal.)