Northville Rises from Low-Scoring Pack to Finish with 1st Finals Victory
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
June 10, 2023
ALLENDALE – A mere six shots separated the top three teams at Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Boys Golf Final.
Out of the competitive tussle emerged a first-time champion.
Northville captured the program’s first Finals title after fending off its two closest competitors.
The Mustangs shot a two-day total of 605 to clip runner-up Rochester Adams (607) and third-place Brighton (609).
Adams’ junior Peter Roehl won the individual title after closing with a final-round 68.
“This program has never won a team state title in golf so this team, yesterday and today, just battled and battled and battled,” Mustangs coach Matt Lewicki said. “It’s been one of the toughest state finals we’ve ever seen from a competition standpoint top to bottom, so for these guys to prevail, it's incredible.”
Four seniors catapulted Northville to the win, led by Mason Sokolowski with a third-place finish.
Sokolowski fired a 144 (70-74), while teammate Greg Braun shot a pair of 74s and finished 11th overall.
“This is crazy, our first boys golf championship,” Sokolowski said. “Everyone had each other’s back, and we were having fun out there in our last high school tournament.
“We’ve been going back and forth all year (with Brighton), and today was about smart golf. No big numbers and not getting ahead of ourselves. We just battled on a really tough course.”
The unsung hero for Northville was senior Thomas Forsythe, who hadn’t competed during the last two weeks due to the team’s talent and depth and had to go through qualifying for the opportunity to play.
“He wasn’t expecting to play in this tournament and he came out and really contributed and really helped the team,” Lewicki said. “He came in and had a counting score yesterday and nailed it down today. He came through a gauntlet of qualifying to get in this tournament, and it was incredible for him and the rest of our seniors.”
Forsythe shot a 156 (77-79), while senior Ryan Gallagher added a 157 (79-78).
“I’m overwhelmed,” said an emotional Forsythe. “I had to qualify to get into this, and now we’re state champions. We have some good players on this team, and I’m happy that I could help and get this done.
“We just took it one shot at a time and managed to pull through. I’m happy for all the seniors, and this is the first one in school history. It’s a big deal and means a lot.”
Northville and Brighton entered the final round knotted at 300.
“The mindset today was to have fun, and the reason they were here was because they worked their butts off to get here,” Lewicki said. “Just stay calm and stay confident. Don’t get too high or too low.”
Adams trailed by nine strokes entering Saturday, but posted the best final-round score (298) to jump into second place.
Senior Justin Oviatt finished eighth overall with a 147 (74-73).
“These kids had a great year, and I think we had 10 first or second-place finishes,” Highlanders coach Matt Zavadil said. “Overall they had a great year, and to finish it off with runner-up is pretty good.”
Roehl shot a 72 on the first day, but stormed to the top of the leaderboard with stellar play and finished Saturday with a tournament-low 3-under-par round.
He bested runner-up Drew Miller of East Lansing, who shot a 143 (74-69).
“I was just trying to make par on every hole,” Roehl said. “I knew scores might be a little lower, but I didn’t really look at the leaderboard and just played the golf course hole by hole. It worked out in the end.”
Roehl drained a 20-foot eagle putt on the fourth hole.
“That kickstarted my round,” he said. “I cooled off a little bit but finished strong. It feels good to win, but it stings to come up short as a team.”
Two Brighton players, seniors Winston Lerch and Andrew Daily, finished among the top 10 individuals.
PHOTOS (Top) Mason Sokolowski putts during Northville’s title-clinching round Saturday. (Middle) Adams’ Peter Roehl tracks a shot during his medalist weekend. (Below) East Lansing’s Drew Miller follows one of his approaches. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
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.)