1st-Day Leader Hackett Finishes Title Run
June 8, 2019
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
ALLENDALE – Aiden Gillig didn’t want to leave Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep without accomplishing a goal that had eluded him in previous tries.
Gillig’s soccer teams had fallen short twice in pursuit of Division 4 titles, but it turns out a smaller white ball did just the trick.
Hackett won its first MHSAA Finals since 2013 on Saturday, shooting the second round of a two-day 652 that bested runner-up Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett by 11 strokes at The Meadows at Grand Valley State.
“This is my first state title, and I’ve been chasing one for the last four years,” said Gillig, the lone senior on Hackett’s team. “It’s been tough to get runner-up twice for soccer, so this means a lot to get this one.
“I thought we came in underrated, and we showed the state we were the best team. And these young guys have the potential to win two more, and hopefully they do.”
The Irish had a pair of golfers finish among the top 10. Junior Will Verduzco tied for fifth with a 156, and sophomore Tommy Keyte was seventh at 157.
Also contributing were sophomores Ryan Chafty (162) and Ben Bridenstine (177).
“We’ve been there all year, and we have three guys that can shoot in the 70s and Aidan and Ben are in the low 80s,” Verduzco said. “That’s what you need to compete in this tournament, and this is something we’ve thought about all year and worked toward.
“I think some people didn’t see it coming, outside of the team, but it feels good to get it done.”
Last season’s Division 4 champion NorthPointe Christian moved to Division 3 this spring. But Hackett, after coming in fourth in 2018, returned its top four players from last season and won its Regional two weeks ago by a whopping 45 strokes.
“I think they knew a little more of what to do this year, and it was definitely an advantage for them to play in the Finals last year,” Irish coach Jim Holton said. “The Meadows is a tough course, and you have to keep it out of the tall grass. We played pretty good yesterday, and I’m pretty happy overall with how they played. It was a total team effort today.”
The Irish led by 14 strokes entering the final round after a first-day total of 323. Leland, Clarkston Everest Collegiate and Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett all were tied for second at 337 after the first round.
“This is a tough course to come from behind,” Holton said. “As long as we played smart and didn’t give up strokes, I knew it would be tough for a team to come from behind.”
Clarkston Everest Collegiate senior Mitch Lowney, meanwhile, captured the individual title by shooting a 147 to win by a single stroke over two other players.
Lowney outlasted Clinton’s Austin Fauser and Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart’s Michael Zanoni. They both shot 148.
“Being a senior, I wanted to end on a good note,” Lowney said. “Obviously, I wanted the team win, but a goal of mine was to win the individual state title and I knew I could do it. It was pretty intense out there at the end.”
Lowney carded a first-day 73 and then followed it up with a 2-over-par 74. He finished his round with eight consecutive pars.
“I played very smart,” Lowney said. “I hit driver a total of two times over the past two days, and I just played this course smart. I took my medicine when I did and played good overall.”
Ironically, Lowney placed runner-up to Fauser as a sophomore. Lowney was fifth a year ago.
“I’ve been in the mix a lot, and it feels good to actually get one,” Lowney said.
The Knights, which recorded their best Finals’ finish since 2015, posted the lowest team total of Saturday (326).
“For very difficult conditions and a tough course, we played great,” Liggett coach Dan Sullivan said. “They had the best round of the day, and we made up some ground on the first-place team by three strokes so I was very proud of them for that. And my three players that carried me at the end were two freshmen and a sophomore.”
Junior Colin Degnore fired a final-round 76 for the Knights and finished tied for eighth at 157.
Sullivan said he believed Hackett was the team to beat.
“I thought Hackett was the best team in the state when I looked at scores of various tournaments,” he said. “I thought they were head-and-shoulders above everybody else, and they would have to have a rough tournament for anyone else to have a chance. I thought we would be fighting with those other teams for second place.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Hackett’s Will Verduzco watches one of his shots during Saturday’s second-round play at The Meadows. (Middle) Clarkston Everest Collegiate’s Mitch Lowney hits an approach during his run to the individual championship. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Sintkowski's Final-Hole Eagle Secures UP Finals Repeat for Hancock
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
May 30, 2025
NORWAY — Hancock’s Jackson Sintkowski said he wasn’t playing the best at Friday’s Upper Peninsula Division 2 Final. His last hole, and what happened to be the team’s final one for the day, went exceedingly well, though.
His tee shot landed right down the middle of the fairway, he hit a 9-iron to within 10 feet of the hole and he drained the putt.
“I was pretty pumped up,” the senior said.
It was good for an eagle. The Bulldogs won the tournament by two strokes.
Hancock repeated as Division 2 champion, edging Painesdale Jeffers 324-326 at Oak Crest Golf Course in Norway.
“What we’ve always stressed to these kids is always play to the end,” Hancock coach Paul Sintkowski said. “You never know. I always tell them before every meet that every shot counts. Even though you’re not playing good — 87, if you would have shot an 89, we don’t win. Those kids did that today, they played till the end and I think that is part of the reason why we won again.”
He believes they were the favorites to win coming into the day. They won the Final last year and had won everything in the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference during the regular season.
“I think that’s probably why some of our scores were probably not where they should be,” Coach Sintkowski said. “I think it’s probably a little bit of the pressure.”
It all worked out in the end – thanks, in part, to the big-time eagle by Jackson Sintkowski, who finished with a score of 78, good for third place individually.
“It’s a great feeling” to repeat, he said. “We have a solid team. All of us put up pretty good scores.”
Every Hancock player shot under 90. Kirby Storm joined Sintkowski under 80 with a 79 to finish fourth. Teammate Nolan Hanner carded an 80 to finish sixth.
Four golfers among the top 11 wasn’t quite enough for Jeffers to avoid finishing runner-up as a team for the third straight year. Jets junior Griffin Heinonen finished individual runner-up himself with a 77, Max Nordstrom had an 81 to take seventh, Easton Therrian was eighth with an 82 and Benton Rajala was 11th with an 86.
Cedarville/DeTour placed third as a team with a 363, Ironwood was fourth with a 369 and Newberry rounded out the top five with a 375.
Stephenson’s Owen Kuehnau had the round of the day, carding a 71 to win the individual Finals title, with the runner-up Heinonen six strokes back.
“It feels good,” he said. “It was always a goal of mine, so it definitely feels good.”
The senior finished third at the Final last year and ninth the year before that.
It wasn’t easy to win it Friday.
“The pin positions were really tough, so you just had to go in the middle of green and hope to two-putt,” Kuehnau said.
His score was the lowest recorded by a U.P. Division 2 champion since the MHSAA created the division in 2001.
Munising’s Carter Deatsman rounded out the top five with a 79.
PHOTOS (Top) The Hancock boys golf team holds up its latest Finals championship trophy. (Middle) Painesdale Jeffers’ Benton Rajala follows his shot during Friday’s round. (Photos by Jason Juno.)