Eichhorn Ends Stellar Career with Sweep
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 1, 2017
GLADSTONE — It was business as usual for Hunter Eichhorn at Thursday’s Upper Peninsula Division 3 Boys Golf Finals.
The Carney-Nadeau senior fired a 6-under-par 66 on this sunny and mild day at Irish Oaks Golf Course for his fourth consecutive U.P. title.
He also helped the Wolves secure their third straight team championship with 327 strokes, 13 fewer than runner-up Cedarville. North Central placed third at 361.
This marked a nine-stroke improvement from a year ago for Eichhorn, who shot 75 on the same course.
“I hit the ball real well today,” said Eichhorn, who will continue his golf career at Marquette University in Milwaukee. “I didn’t get any bogeys, which is a huge part of it. There’s a little more pressure and more people watching you in the U.P. Finals, but it’s just something you have to get used to.
“I think playing Division I golf is going to be awesome. It’s something I’m prepared for. I’m looking forward to seeing how my game stacks up with the best college golfers in the world. I’m very excited to go there.”
Eichhorn, who will major in business communications, was every bit as happy with the Wolves again taking the team title.
“Winning as a team is a great feeling,” he said. “We’ve had the same team for basically three years, and this was our best score as a group. Everybody kept getting better, which put us in position to succeed.”
Cedarville senior Avry Freel, who’s attending Ferris State University this fall in preparation for his player’s ability test, earned runner-up honors with a 70. Carney senior Mason Linder and North Central junior Ben Snyder shared third place at 80.
“This is the best score I’ve had in a tournament,” said Freel. “My approach shot was working pretty well, and the course and weather conditions were nice. I was a little nervous and three-putted the first hole. Then, I birdied the second hole and settled in. It was hard to get used to the greens at first. We’ve had Finals here the last two years and we practiced here yesterday (Wednesday). I knew which clubs I needed to use.
“I’ve played with Hunter the past three years. I always try to beat him, but he’s such a good player. I have a feeling he’s going to do quite well in college.”
First-year Carney coach Mike Polfus said this was a fun season for him and the players.
“The kids were great and fun to be around,” he added. “Hunter has been phenomenal. He’s an unbelievable leader, and the kids got along real well. There would sometimes be little bit of good-natured ribbing when a kid would miss a shot, and they always complimented each other on a good shot.
“We knew Cedarville would probably the closest team to us, and their kid (Freel) shot a real nice score. It’s good for Hunter to have that competition. It makes him play better and concentrate more.”
Cedarville coach Rob Freel said he was happy with where the Trojans finished.
“I think they played very well,” he added. “Avry had an excellent round. I think Avry and Hunter gave us a real good show. Our boys did as well as they could. It was a little emotional on the last hole.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Carney-Nadeau’s Hunter Eichhorn chips a shot near the green at Thursday’s U.P. Division 3 Golf Finals at Gladstone’s Irish Oaks Golf Course. Eichhorn was medalist with a 66 and led the Wolves to the team title. (Middle) Cedarville’s Avry Freel watches a putt on the way to finishing individual runner-up. (Photos by Mike Mattson.)
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.)