It's Championship Time for Badker, While Houghton Holds On for Team Title
By
Todd Rose
Special for Second Half
June 1, 2022
BARK RIVER – From the Division 3 boys basketball championship game at the Breslin Center to the Great Northern Conference golf final at Escanaba Country Club, the story of much of Brady Badker’s senior year has been second place.
That changed Wednesday afternoon, as Menominee’s Badker won the individual championship at the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Final at Sage Run Golf Course in Bark River.
“This one feels good to get off my chest,” Badker remarked after the win. “The last two things I cared about most were basketball and golf, and (it was) runner-up, runner-up. But, this one was kind of the one I wanted really bad because last year I came up short.”
Badker shot a 75 on Wednesday to earn a three-stroke win over Houghton’s Marino Pisani.
Badker marked the front nine as the place where he earned his advantage.
“I’d say on the front nine my approach shots were kind of getting real close,” he said. “I got good looks at birdies instead of those long five-foot par putts. Those are the ones you have to save out here because it’s a tough course. When you’ve got those five-footers for birdie instead of five-footers for par, that really helps to keep your mindset going.”
Aside from the added challenge of wind, the Sage Run course itself presents a challenge on its own.
“A lot of courses that we play up here, you’re hitting wedges and all that in the greens,” noted Badker. “Here, you’re hitting 8-irons and 9-irons, so it’s a little bit higher. You have to think about the wind and the bunkers around the green and behind the hole. If you can hit it long or if you can hit it left, it’s a lot tougher. You kind of have to hit your spots or you’re going to struggle here.”
Runner-up Pisani, a Houghton sophomore, felt he had a bit of a rough start and end but still enjoyed the sunny, warm day at Sage Run.
“I thought it was a pretty solid round,” Pisani said. “I started off slow. I had a triple and a couple doubles but rebounded well, stayed composed and kept level-headed. … Somebody told me I was about one back of (Badker) with four to go, and I struggled to close out a bit. I took a double on one of my last holes and had a couple missed putts, but I’ll try not to think about it too much.”
While Pisani finished runner-up in the individual standings – ahead of a three-way tie between Cole Myllyla (Kingsford), Cooper Pigeon (Iron Mountain) and Tyler Annala (Westwood) for third – his Houghton Gremlins shot a collective 329 to take home the team championship.
“Overall, I thought the team did great,” Pisani said. “Every guy performed well, and I think it was just a great day for golf in general.”
Houghton coach Corey Markham shared his excitement as well.
“I’m really proud of the kids,” he added. “We had never seen the course until yesterday. We came down to do a practice round, and the wind was howling like 30, 35 mile an hour. So it was hard to get a read on how you’re playing the course in those kind of winds. But, they got to see the course and how it was laid out, so that really was great.
“They showed up. I told them going in if we could average between 80 and 85, we’d be right in the mix. We had Marino go down into the 70s, and the rest were all between 80 and 85. So, I’m really proud of how they played today.”
The U.P. Finals championship rounds out a successful year for the Gremlins, who also collected top honors in the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference.
“It was a really good year for us,” said Markham. “We started off slow. We had a late spring, and we had no practice before we played our two first meets and our course opened one day before our third meet. We had a slow start, but once we started playing and getting in a groove we won most of the meets we played in the last quarter of the season.”
Finishing second with a score of 334 was GNC champion Marquette.
“Going in, I thought if the guys played well and had a really good day there would be a good chance we’d be in the mix,” said Marquette coach Ben Smith. “I bet if you asked the kids while they were out there, you probably wouldn’t get too many ‘it’s going great Coach’ responses. But, conditions were tough out there. Obviously, the wind and the course itself is not easy. … But, credit to the kids, they hung in there.”
Smith added that close matches throughout the season helped prep Marquette for the competitive nature of the U.P. Finals.
“We’ve had a couple matches this year that came down to a shot or two,” he said. “So, I think the kids kind of bought into the idea that every swing matters and even if it doesn’t seem like it’s your day, just try and get the ball in the hole. Credit to them, they hung in there for each other and were able to come out with a second-place finish.”
The margins at the top of the team standings were thin as the top five all shot within 12 strokes of each other. After Houghton (329) and Marquette (334) were Calumet and Kingsford tied at 337, with Escanaba rounding out the top five at 341.
PHOTOS (Top) Brady Badker of Menominee tees off on hole 16 at Sage Run Golf Course during Wednesday afternoon's MHSAA U.P. Division 1 Boys Golf Final in Bark River. (Middle) Houghton holds up its first-place team trophy. (Photos by Todd Rose.)
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.)