Okemos' Masih Completes Homecoming, DCC Finishes Finals Repeat Under New Leader
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 7, 2025
EAST LANSING — Two years ago, Ian Masih of Okemos was envisioning high school golf success in Michigan, although he wasn’t even living in the state at the time.
Masih grew up in Michigan, but spent his freshman and sophomore years of high school living in the Orlando, Fla., area with his grandpa. He took online classes and enjoyed the luxury of being able to play golf year-round with a coach he had there.
But before his junior year, he decided to move back to cold-weather Michigan in spite of his golfing ambitions.
“I wanted to come back for family and friends,” he said. “It was good to be down there practicing all the time. But it was nice to come back.”
Masih was really thankful he came back to Michigan on Saturday after he won the medalist honor at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers West.
Not surprisingly, the team championship was once again claimed by Detroit Catholic Central, which won its second-straight title and third over the last four years.
Back to Masih, he shot identical scores of 69 for a two-day total of 138 – one shot ahead of Catholic Central junior Jack Whitmore (139) and two shots ahead of Warren De La Salle Collegiate senior Julian Sinishtaj (140).
Signed with Grand Valley State, Masih had five birdies and just two bogeys and finished his day by birdieing the par-4, 386-yard third hole.
“Patience,” Masih said of the key to his round. “There were a lot of times I wanted to hammer it at the hole. But I stayed patient and made the putts I needed to.”
Masih said he didn’t know he needed a birdie on his last hole to sew up the title.
“I tried my best not to look,” he said. “It worked out.”
All of that certainly made coming back to the cold of Michigan worth it, even as he had to readjust to hitting balls in a dome during the winter. “A lot of (simulator) golf also,” he said.
Behind Masih, Catholic Central had two players finish among the top 10 – Whitmore and senior Dillon Che, who placed as part of a five-way tie for 10th (146).
Juniors David Krusinski and Collin Davis flanked those two with identical two-day totals of 151 for the Shamrocks, who had to deal with a little bit of a transition this year.
Head coach Mike Anderson retired after leading Catholic Central to five Finals titles over 10 years, but the train kept rolling behind new coach Mike Fras, an assistant with the team the past three seasons.
Catholic Central finished with a final team total of 587, seven shots ahead of Rochester Adams, which finished as the runner-up for the second-straight season with a total of 594.
“It was definitely a change with Coach Fras coming in,” Whitmore said. “We did things different. We actually had team practices this year. There really wasn’t any pressure. Just have fun, go out there and play good.”
Catholic Central entered the day 11 shots ahead of second-place Brighton and 15 shots ahead of fourth-place Adams.
The Highlanders had a strong second day, shooting a team score of 296 to climb into second position. But it wasn’t quite enough to make up the difference with Catholic Central.
“We only cared about the team, and that is what our priority has been all season,” Fras said. “Our first tournament of the season, Rochester Adams beat us pretty good. We knew Adams was going to be right back and we’d be going back and forth all season. Fortunately we had a really good first day, because Adams had a really good day today.”
Brighton (601), Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (602) and De La Salle (602) rounded out the top five.
(Click for more photos from High School Sports Scene.)
Flashback 100: Wagner's Dream of Going on Tour Realized - with Greta Van Fleet
June 10, 2025
As a freshman, Frankenmuth golfer Daniel Wagner qualified individually for the 2014 Lower Peninsula Division 3 Boys Golf Final, finishing in a tie for 35th place. He improved the following year, tying for 26th as a sophomore, and by his junior season Frankenmuth qualified as a team and finished 11th overall with Wagner leading the way.
Heading into his senior season in 2017, Wagner and the Frankenmuth team were in top form, the Eagles as a team having placed second at their Regional and with Wagner finishing second individually as well. Expectations were high for a strong finish at the Final.
But Wagner never made it to the tournament — not due to injury or illness, but for an entirely different stage. He was in Sweden, performing with three friends from Frankenmuth as part of the emerging rock band Greta Van Fleet, during a showcase for music executives. Right after the showcase, the band went on tour across the United States.
That showcase marked the beginning of a meteoric rise. Since then, the band has released three albums — Anthem of the Peaceful Army (2018), The Battle at Garden’s Gate (2021) and Starcatcher (2023) — and earned four Grammy nominations, including a win for Best Rock Album in 2019.
Greta Van Fleet features brothers Joshua, Jake, and Sam Kiszka, along with Wagner, the band's drummer. The band took its name from longtime Frankenmuth resident Gretna Van Fleet.
Years after missing the 2017 Finals, Wagner reached out to the MHSAA about his lost 2016 Finals golf bag tag. A replacement was sent to him and he remains, to date, the only Grammy Award winner known to have one on his or her golf bag ...
Previous "Flashback 100" Features
May 23: Tarpley's Legendary Run Began as Portage Central's Miss Soccer - Read
May 16: Scane’s Record-Setting Lacrosse Run Began at Cranbrook Kingswood - Read
May 8: Duckett's High School Domination Extended to Shot Put Circle - Read
May 6: MHSAA Titles Just Start for NCAA Champion, Olympian Stark - Read
May 1: Legendary Actor Played Multiple Sports Roles at Country Day - Read
April 23: Legacy Program Provided Start for Pioneering NBA Official Schroeder - Read
April 11: Rice's Championship-Winning Ways Started at Flint Northwestern - Read
March 28: Youngquist's Times Still Among MHSAA's Fastest - Read
March 18: After 40 Years, Coles' Shot Remains Among Century's Most Famous - Read
March 7: Walled Lake Northern's Hellebuyck Reigns as NHL's Elite Netminder - Read
Feb. 27: Zeerip's Mat Stats Remain Rarely-Challenged Chart Toppers - Read
Feb. 21: Before TV Stardom, Kerwin Excelled as All-State Skier - Read
Feb. 14: Detroit Central Star Voted into Pro Football Hall of Fame - Read
Feb. 6: Multi-Sport Star Look Becomes Super Bowl Officiating Legend - Read
Jan. 31: Johnson Family Put Magical Stamp on Michigan High School Hoops - Read
Jan. 24: Future Hall of Famers Face Off First in MHSAA Class A Final - Read
Jan. 17: First-Ever WNBA Draft Pick Rocked at Salem, Won Titles at Tennessee - Read
Jan. 10: Despite Launching Before 3-Point Line, Smith Still Tops Scoring List - Read
Jan. 3: Edison's Jackson Earns Place Among State's All-Time Elite - Read
Dec. 20: Future Olympian Piper Leads Grosse Pointe North to Historic Heights - Read
Dec. 13: The Other Mr. Forsythe in Michigan School Sports - Read
Dec. 6: Coleman's Legendary Heroics Carry Harrison Through Repeat - Read
Nov. 29: Harbaugh Brothers' Football Roots Planted in Part at Pioneer - Read
Nov. 22: 8-Player Football Finals Right at Home at Superior Dome - Read
Nov. 15: Leland Career Helps Set Stage for Glass' International Stardom - Read
Nov. 8: Future Baseball Pro Led Escanaba's Legendary Football Title Run - Read
Nov. 1: Michigan High School Baseball Trio Provide World Series Voices - Read
Oct. 25: Before Leading Free World, Ford Starred for Champion GR South - Read
Oct. 18: Mercy Links Legend Becomes World Golf Hall of Famer - Read
Oct. 11: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First - Read
Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6: Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read
(Photos courtesy of the Frankenmuth News, left, and Dan Wagner.)