Mid Pen's VanDamme Finishes Finals Climb, Lake Linden-Hubbell Clinches 1st Team Title
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
May 28, 2026
WATERSMEET — Rock Mid Peninsula's Christian VanDamme is only a sophomore, yet he came into Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Division 3 Final with two past runner-up finishes at this golf tournament.
He made the top five as a seventh grader before shooting an impressive 76 as an eighth grader to finish second behind his brother Bradly. Last year, he had a seven-hole lead going into the back nine, but couldn’t hold off Powers North Central’s Nathan Pipkorn.
“I’ve definitely been putting too much pressure on myself the last couple years,” VanDamme said. “So I just kind of played free today.”
It translated into a first-place finish this time, while carding a 75.
“It’s nice,” he said. “It’s a lot nicer than losing, I’ll tell you that.”
His coach, and mom, Earlene VanDamme was proud of the growth he showed.
“I think Christian’s come a long way in his mental game,” she said. “That was what his big focus was. We knew he had the skill. He just really needed to work on that mental game. So all season, we’ve watched him pull through on that, where if he has a bad shot, he can overcome it on the next one. And so to see him take it today really cemented that.”
That’s what hurt him last year – a bad hole that he couldn’t let go.
Now he has a U.P. title he doesn’t have to let go.
“He works really hard at his game,” Earlene said. “He loves the game. If he could live at the golf course, he would. I like to see kids have hard work pay off, and that’s what he has.”
He didn’t putt all that well at the Lac Vieux Desert Golf Course, but most everything else went fine.
“It’s nice playing this short of a course; you don’t have to hit much of a tee ball, I hit a lot of hybrids and three woods,” he said.
Big Bay de Noc’s Parker Pederson carded a 78 to finish second. Three players tied for third.
“Tyler is pretty level-headed on the course. Brady, a technical player, grinds it out. Lukas plays smooth and easy-going, and he hits putts.”
That’s how Lake Linden-Hubbell coach Brett Poissant describes the Lakes’ Axford triplets, who all golf differently, but equally well. The juniors all shot an 80 to tie for third individually and lead the Lakes to their first U.P. team title after finishing in second place the last two years.
“That’s just been our success, the last few years with them, they’re the driving force,” Poissant said. “They’re so consistent, and there’s definitely that sibling rivalry. They like to battle each other, and I think that’s part of the motivator for the team is they want to best each other and ultimately ended in a tie.”
Lake Linden-Hubbell’s other two golfers also finished among the top 10, Brayden Beaudette in a tie for sixth with an 81 and Bodie Fortin in 10th with an 84.
It’s no surprise then that they won comfortably, 321-354 over runner-up Big Bay de Noc. Ontonagon took third with Wakefield-Marenisco fourth and Bessemer fifth.
“It’s been the goal since those kids were freshmen, to win a U.P. title,” Poissant said. “They’ve really, really put it in their sights, and it all came together today. They shot really well.”
“It’s very cool. This is our first team title in school history,” Lukas Axford said. “We put a lot of work in this spring. We got a real tight-knit group of guys, and it’s amazing to see our hard work pay off.”
PHOTOS (Top) Rock Mid Peninsula's Christian VanDamme rips through an iron shot during Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Division 3 Final. (Middle) Lake Linden-Hubbell’s Brady Axford follows a tee shot. (Photos by Jason Juno.)
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.)