Marquette Boys Repeat as Moore Takes Next Step to Top Finals Leaderboard
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
May 28, 2025
BARK RIVER— Marquette junior Boden Moore prides himself on being a team player and supporting teammates.
But he admitted finishing one shot behind teammate Kaleb Chipelewski at last year’s Upper Peninsula Division 1 Final provided incentive going into this year’s event.
“It definitely motivated me a little bit,” Moore said.
This time, it was Moore who got to celebrate being on top of the leaderboard, as he carded a sizzling 2-under-par round of 70 on a tough Sage Run course to win the medalist honor Wednesday.
Moore eagled the short par-4, No. 8 hole, and recorded birdies on two par-5s, Nos. 3 and 9.
“I was just making all the six and seven-footers and hitting good drives,” Moore said. “I was throwing darts with the irons. The irons were locked in. Just putting them close and making some putts.”
Moore’s total and Marquette’s depth helped propel the Sentinels to their second straight team title.
Marquette finished with a total of 311, 11 shots ahead of runner-up Escanaba. Menominee (331), Houghton (334) and Kingsford (335) rounded out the top five in the 15-team field.
“We’ve had a really solid year as a group and individually,” Marquette head coach Ben Smith said. “Boden was playing the five slot today. Based on our scoring averages, that’s how it fell. These kids grind, they play really well together, they compete a lot, but they also know they are pulling for each other.”
In addition to Moore, junior Easton Aho shot a 78, junior Jack Pond shot an 80 and sophomore Seve Swanson carded an 83, meaning Chipelewski’s solid score of 85 could be thrown out from the team total.
“Today, they really didn’t have good vibes of things going the right way the whole time,” Smith said. “But they hung in there.”
On a pleasant day with little wind, individuals took advantage, with nine golfers breaking 80.
Ishpeming Westwood senior Tanner Annala finished as the runner-up with a 1-over-par round of 73, while Iron Mountain senior Cooper Pigeon was third with a 77.
For Escanaba, it was its best finish at the tournament since winning the second of back-to-back titles in 2018. Sophomore Carson Artley shot a 79 to finish in a tie for seventh and lead the way. Sophomores Jared Plourde (80) and Lincoln Bradfield (81), and junior Graham Johnson (82) weren’t too far behind and helped keep Escanaba within striking distance of Marquette.
“We’ve been looking at Marquette multiple times this year, and I think a lot of our success today was due to the fact we’ve been battling that team,” Escanaba coach Brian Robinette said. “Drafting off of them. We know they are going to play well, they’re not going to relent and not going to give us much. They made it a little interesting on the front nine, which allowed us to get a taste there. That’s just what golf does to you. As good as you are, you have to perform.”
PHOTOS (Top) Marquette's boys golf team poses with the championship trophy after capturing its second-straight UP Division 1 title Wednesday at Sage Run Golf Course. (Middle) Carter Campioni of Houghton gets ready to tap in a putt on the ninth hole. (Photos by Keith Dunlap.)
Back to Full Strength, Menser Eager to Show Full Talent with Title Pursuit
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 6, 2024
For a while this spring, Detroit Catholic Central senior golfer Julian Menser probably wondered if he was going to be spending more time in the hospital than on the golf course.
Up until the initial days of May, Menser had a terrible bout of mononucleosis, and treatment days were more common than sessions on the driving range or putting green.
“After I was done with the symptom part, I would be out practicing and I’d all of a sudden get hit with random fatigue,” said Menser, who said he also suffers from asthma. “It would hijack what I was trying to get done.”
Fortunately, it appears as if his senior season will have a happy ending after the slow start.
Menser is not only healthy, but is playing superb golf heading into this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final at Bedford Valley in Battle Creek.
The happiest conclusion would be for Menser to close his high school career with an individual championship – and the way he’s been playing, it’s quite possible.
On May 15 at the Oakland County tournament, Menser fired a 7-under par round of 65 at Fieldstone Golf Club in Auburn Hills to win the medalist honor going away.
Last week in his Regional tournament at Twin Lakes, Menser shot a 6-under par round of 66 to win the medalist honor and lead the Shamrocks to the team title.
Signed to play next for Michigan State, Menser is rightfully full of confidence.
“I’m playing well, but I just try to look at it that golf can change and how you are playing can change every single morning when you wake up,” Menser said. “I don’t really look at it as, ‘I shot this then’ or ‘I played this well here.’ I don’t really look at it like that. I just kind of look at it as coming into this tournament it means a lot to me, and the team wants to win. I just prioritize that.”
Menser hopes to also rebound from what was a disappointing result by his expectations at last year’s MHSAA Tournament.
After finishing eighth individually two years ago as a sophomore, Menser couldn’t crack the top 10 last season.
“I didn’t really play how I wanted to play last year,” Menser said. “I honestly felt like I let the guys down on the team last year. I felt good going into last year. I just didn’t execute how I was trying to or play like I was trying to. But that’s golf.”
Menser has been on varsity since his freshman year, and Catholic Central head coach Mike Anderson said it’s hard to tell what has grown more, his game or his body.
Anderson said Menser has grown about seven inches since his freshman year, which is allowing him to hit the ball a ton now in addition to having an outstanding short game, putter and intelligence around the course.
“He’s very mature for his age,” Anderson said. “He’s got great golf mechanics. He thinks his way around the course well. He’s a fantastic young man. Very smart.”
Menser will have a busy summer circuit before heading to MSU, where he hopes to follow in the footsteps of past Catholic Central golfer James Piot by having an unforgettable career with the Spartans.
Piot also became well-known when he won the U.S. Amateur and played on the LIV Golf tour.
“I think those footsteps are ones that anyone would want to follow in,” Menser said.
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Catholic Central’s Julian Menser putts during last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final. (Middle) Menser sends a shot out of the deep rough at The Meadows at Grand Valley State. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)