Close Call Falls B.C. Lakeview's Way
June 15, 2013
By Tom Kendra
Special to Second Half
EAST LANSING – As the scores were being posted at Saturday’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Boys Golf Final, a familiar, painful and sinking feeling came over senior Matt Garland and his Battle Creek Lakeview teammates.
"We can’t lose by one stroke again – that’s what I was thinking,” said Garland, who was individual medalist one year ago as a junior when his team finished one stroke behind Birmingham Brother Rice. “For a little bit, it looked like that was going to happen.”
Instead, Battle Creek Lakeview and Plymouth tied with identical two-day totals of 601, then Lakeview was awarded the championship based on the first tiebreaker – combined No. 5 player scores over the Friday and Saturday rounds at the Finals at Forest Akers West.
Muskegon Mona Shores and Detroit Catholic Central tied for third at 610 and Traverse City West and Saline tied for fifth at 617.
Losing the team championship on a tiebreaker was a tough end to a fantastic day for Plymouth, which was ranked No. 7 coming into the weekend but nearly stunned the field by rallying Saturday with a four-person team score of 299 – best in the field by three strokes.
That heartbreaking team defeat was tempered somewhat a bit later, when Plymouth senior Kyle Rodes closed out his prep career by winning a three-hole playoff over White Lake Lakeland junior Alex Kleckner to capture individual medalist honors.
Rodes thought he had won medalist honors after backing up an even-par round of 72 on Friday with a 1-under par 71 on Saturday, for a 143 total. But midway through a post-round interview, tournament officials posted the day’s best score – a 69 from Kleckner, giving him a 143 total as well and setting the stage for more golf.
The duo then played Hole 18, then Hole 10, before Rodes won it in dramatic fashion by snaking in a 19-foot birdie putt in front of a big gallery.
“It was fun making a putt like that in front of all those people,” said Rodes, who will play golf at Eastern Michigan University. “It’s exciting that I won, but bittersweet because we didn’t win as a team.
“We are very bitter that it was determined by a tie-breaker and not on the course, but that’s the way it goes.”
The great putt by Rodes was just a continuation of his hot putting throughout the two-day Finals. Rodes made a 30-foot, breaking eagle putt on the par-five 13th hole and backed that up by draining a 40-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole. That two-hole, three-under par stretch helped Rodes win medalist honors and nearly helped the Wildcats pull off a shocking and improbable team championship.
Plymouth made its move on Saturday as a trio of other teams expected to battle for the team title – Muskegon Mona Shores, Detroit Catholic Central and White Lake Lakeland – were unable to generate any kind of momentum.
That turned Saturday’s round on a warm and unusually calm Forest Akers West course into a two-team race between No. 1-ranked Battle Creek Lakeview and unheralded Plymouth.
In the end, while Plymouth had the best individual player in Rodes, Lakeview had the best team from No. 1 to No. 5.
“Nobody knows the value of one stroke better than we do,” said Lakeview coach Anthony Evans. “Our experience of coming so close last year really helped us this year, no question. It took every single one of our guys to win this thing today.”
He’s not kidding.
Garland, the defending Division 1 medalist, actually finished third on his team this year at 74-77-151. Senior Landon Osborne (75-73-148) led the Spartans, followed by sophomore Matt Alderink (73-77-150). Others figuring in the scoring for Lakeview were freshman-to-watch-out-for Andrew Walker (77-76-153) and sophomore Gabe Penegor (80-76-156).
Lakeview needed each and every one of those strokes as the tie with Plymouth was broken by taking the score of the No. 5 player each day. Lakeview had an 80 and a 77 from its fifth-best shooter each day for a 157, compared to 161 for Plymouth.
“This whole season has been about our depth,” said Garland, who led the Spartans to a Regional championship last weekend on their home course. “We know how to grind it out when we have to. I didn’t play well at all this weekend, but I tried to get the best that I could out of my round.”
Coach Evans singled out his two sophomores, Alderink and Penegor, for never giving up and making the dream of the school’s first championship since 2008 a reality.
Alderink bogeyed his first four holes on Saturday and appeared headed for a big number. Instead, he righted the ship and played the remaining 14 holes in 1-over par, including an eagle 3 on No. 13.
Penegor came through in an even bigger way. When it appeared that Lakeview might once again lose by one shot, it was Penegor’s 76 as the No. 5 player that created the tie and then the Spartans’ championship via the tie-breaker.
“Those two kids came through for us, and I couldn’t be more proud,” said Evans.
Rockford’s AJ Varekois (147) placed third and Detroit Catholic Central’s Phil Ritchie and Lakeview’s Osborne tied for fourth individually at 148.
Rounding out the Top 10 were Canton’s Donnie Trosper, Plymouth’s John Tatti and Saline’s Ian Martin tied for sixth at 149, and Grosse Pointe South’s Joe Becker, Traverse City Central’s Winton Munch and Lakeview’s Alderink tied for ninth at 150.
PHOTOS: (Top) Battle Creek Lakeview’s boys golf team poses with its Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship trophy. (Middle) Plymouth’s Kyle Rodes fires a shot on his way to becoming the individual champion at Forest Akers West. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)
Top-Ranked Grand Rapids Christian Returns to Top of D2 Championship Standings
By
Scott Hassinger
Special for MHSAA.com
June 7, 2025
BATTLE CREEK - Kevin Broene credits Grand Rapids Christian’s latest Lower Peninsula Division 2 boys golf title won Saturday to the difficult schedule the Eagles face in the Ottawa-Kent Conference White.
The Eagles, runners-up last season to Orchard Lake St. Mary's by just one stroke, re-claimed the championship by winning this weekend’s two-day 36-hole tournament at Beford Valley Golf Course with a team score of 584.
The Eagles outpaced runner-up Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood by nine strokes. Ada Forest Hills Eastern (603) earned third place, followed by Grand Rapids South Christian (610) in fourth and Orchard Lake St. Mary's (611) in fifth.
"Last year was difficult for the guys we graduated and those that we returned this season. Orchard Lake St. Mary's played fantastic, and it was tough not winning that,” said Broene, who also coached Christian to the 2023 championship. “We all dealt with it differently, but our returners were highly motivated to make it happen this time.
"The opportunity we had to come here and play again in the state finals is something we'll never take for granted. Then to come out on top this time is certainly a blessing. There were so many teams from our league represented this weekend in the state finals. It's one of the best conferences in Michigan. It's fantastic to be able to go against those coaches and players all season. You have to credit Cranbrook Kingswood with how well they played today too. We could feel the pressure. Iron sharpens iron, and that helps us a great deal emotionally, mentally and physically."
Grand Rapids Christian, which came in ranked No. 1, was led by its dynamic junior duo of Cooper Reitsma and Sawyer O'Grady.
The Eagles finished with a 289 for the first round and carded a 295 on Saturday. Cranbrook posted a 304 before improving to 289 for the final round.
Reitsma carded a total two-day score of 140, missing out on the medalist honor by only one stroke to Chelsea senior Brian Tillman (139).
Reitsma shot a 69 on Friday and added a 71 on Saturday, while O'Grady finished in a third-place tie with Andrew Chang from Cranbrook Kingswood at 141. O'Grady finished with a 69 in Friday's round and added a 72 on Saturday. Chang, a junior as well, put together rounds of 71 and 70.
Also figuring heavily in Grand Rapids Christian's winning score were senior John Cassiday with a 76 and 74 for 150, junior Ty Erickson with 75 and 78 for 153, and senior Brody Baysore bagged identical scores of 79 for 158.
"Those three guys who were at the top of our scoring today have played in some really big matches for us. They have been right up there for us these last three years,” Broene said. “They are battled-tested, and the challenge they faced this weekend was incredible. The way they handled the ups and downs really says something about their character. All of the guys we lost from last year showed up this weekend to support us, along with several others from the community and school."
Tillman recorded the lowest score during the final round with a 68, with a birdie on the final hole allowing him to take first place.
"I knew I had some ground to make up after coming in two strokes down to Cooper on Friday. He's a great player, but I was able to get the job done with a great round today," Tillman said.
Tillman pointed to his short game, especially his putter, as a key factor.
"There weren't many putts that didn't fall for me. The ball was rolling just about everywhere I wanted it to. I set myself up pretty good with my driver, and I was able to reach several greens with my second shot," Tillman added.
Although not feeling 100 percent, Reitsma stated he was pleased with how the weekend and his final round of 18 unfolded.
"Today was a very intense round, and I was dealing with a lot of mental battles. Recently it was determined that I have mononucleosis and that has left me feeling really fatigued,” Reitsma said. “If you had told me I was going to shoot the scores I did this weekend, I wouldn't have believed you. I'm really happy with how things went for myself and our team.”
Cranbrook put forth an impressive showing in both rounds despite missing two seniors – Ryan Li and David Schmidt – in its lineup Friday due to their participation in graduation ceremonies.
The Cranes' Friday lineup included Chang, junior Henry Delzer (73-70-143), junior Brennan Tato (79-78-157), sophomore Jack Cannarsa (81) and junior Nathan Yan (90). Li replaced Cannarsa in Saturday's round and finished with a 76, while Schmidt fired a 73 playing the second round in Yan’s slot.
"We played pretty well on Friday with the best lineup we could put out there. The two guys that filled in for us played well, but they are just young and inexperienced,” Cranbrook Kingswood coach John Minnich said. “My two seniors have played in state finals every year since they were freshmen, either as individuals or with the team. Graduation is pretty special, but we told our two seniors if they could drive over here on Saturday we'd get them in the lineup.
"Grand Rapids Christian had a 15-stroke lead on us after Friday's round. We stressed to our kids that their lead was not insurmountable. I think (Grand Rapids Christian) might've realized with about four holes left that we were getting closer. I told our kids that the only thing we could control was our own game. We gave five shots back to them down the stretch, and that was the difference. We have a deep team with 16 kids, and we only lose two kids. We learned things this weekend that will help us next season."
Delzer's score earned him a top finish individually. He and Plainwell’s Drew Rayman tied for fifth at 143, followed by JP Levan from East Grand Rapids (145), Jack Klimek (148) from Ada Forest Hills Eastern and Harris Hoekwater (148) from Grand Rapids South Christian tied for eighth, and Allendale teammates Sumner Meekhof and Seeton Hoogerhyde tied for 10th place scores of 149.
(Click for more photos from High School Sports Scene.)