Piedmonte-Lang's 1-Putt Finish Gives Greenhills Championship Sweep
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 11, 2022
FRANKENMUTH – Ann Arbor Greenhills senior Cale Piedmonte-Lang had one objective in mind, but ultimately he couldn’t have been happier that he did NOT achieve it.
Stepping up to the par-5, 529-yard 18th hole at The Fortress during the second and final day of the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Boys Golf Final, Piedmonte-Lang was tied individually with Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Will Preston after recording a birdie on the par-3, 17th hole.
Piedmonte-Lang had one goal for the 18th: Get a par and into a playoff for the individual title.
“I hit iron off of the tee,” Piedmonte-Lang said.
After hitting iron off the tee, iron with his second shot and then a wedge to the green, Piedmonte-Lang found himself with roughly 25-foot putt for birdie that seemed like it was akin to putting down a steep hill of concrete.
“I was just trying trickle it to the hole,” he said. “That was one of the fastest putts I had all day. I was just trying to two-putt.”
Lo and behold, the ball ended up not only trickling toward the hole, but in it for a birdie that gave Piedmonte-Lang a one-shot win individually with a two-day total of 143 (72-71).
Preston shot a 2-under 70 on Saturday to finish at an even-par total of 144, while Mason Anderson of Belding was a shot behind Preston in third place at 145 (73-72).
“It shocked me a little,” Piedmonte-Lang said. “I thought it was short at first, but it kept going. It was kind of surreal.”
Even more surreal was that Piedmonte-Lang also got to celebrate a team title with the rest of the Gryphons, who easily captured their first state championship in boys golf since winning the Class D title in 1994.
Greenhills finished with a two-day score of 612 (306-306), which was 20 shots ahead of runner-up Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett was third at 635.
Piedmont-Lang had plenty of support, with senior Beau Brewer finishing fifth individually with a 150 (71-79) and sophomore Max Shulman finishing sixth at 152 (76-76) for a Greenhills team that was ranked No. 1 in the state going in.
“We got bounced early last year (in Regionals),” Greenhills head coach Michael Karr said. “We didn’t focus too much on it because we didn’t want to bring up bad feelings from last year, but we were definitely motivated this year to go further. It’s not often you have the firepower and talent to win a state title, so you want to take advantage when you’ve got the guys who are that talented to do it.”
Karr said his team got some familiarity with The Fortress when it competed in and won a tournament on the course back in April.
The team shot a 313 that day, and obviously seemed to like playing the course during the MHSAA Tournament.
The Gryphons shot a 306 on Friday to take a 10-shot lead over Traverse City Francis going into the second day, and the message from Karr was clear going into Saturday’s final round.
“We wanted to win today’s 18 holes,” Karr said. “That’s what I told the guys. We still had to be aggressive, we still had to be smart. Let’s win today’s 18 holes and leave no doubt.”
Despite windier conditions on Saturday, Greenhills left no doubt as a team, and all that was left at the end was to see if Piedmont-Lang could win the individual title.
Karr said he told Piedmont-Lang before the 17th hole how things stood, and then camped himself underneath a tree near the 18th green as Piedmont-Lang stood over his birdie attempt.
“Obviously he took the time to read his putt and read it correctly,” Karr said.
As a result, it was the ultimately storybook ending for Piedmont-Lang and Greenhills.
“A putt like that to win it is really something special,” Piedmont-Lang said.
PHOTOS (Top) Greenhills’ Cale Piedmonte-Lang, left, and GRCC’s Will Preston shake hands at the end of Saturday’s Division 3 Final at The Fortress. (Middle) Piedmonte-Lang also celebrated the team championship with the Gryphons. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
5 All-Leaguers + No Seniors = Big Things Ahead for Kalamazoo Christian Boys Golf
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
May 26, 2026
KALAMAZOO — In spite of a team loaded with sophomores, juniors and even a contributing freshman, Kalamazoo Christian coach Brian Seifert is optimistic heading into today’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Golf Regional at Centreville’s Island Hills Golf Course.
Seifert has reason for that optimism.
His top five golfers, none of them seniors, all earned all-conference honors in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and the sixth golfer barely missed it.
“In high school golf, you want a solid three guys for sure that can help you go really low,” Seifert said. “Four makes you a wild card and I’ve got four, five and six that can really play golf. It’s pretty fun to watch.”
Two of those golfers, junior Brixton DeVries and sophomore Ian Riggs, were instrumental in the Comets’ fifth-place finish at last year’s MHSAA Division 3 Final.
DeVries said one important thing to remember in tournament play is “don’t let a bad shot get to you. You’ve got to stay mentally there the entire time.”
Riggs added, “It’s a team effort. Every shot counts, short putts, everything counts. Staying level-minded through your round is definitely a big thing with our team.”
He also said he noticed there are a lot of good golfers competing, but “you’ve just not got to worry about the scores and play your game.”
Seifert said Riggs has been working on his game and also takes lessons.
“He’s really improved this year, and to be named SAC (Most Valuable Golfer) as a sophomore is really nice,” he said.
A third all-conference golfer, Max Nobis, returned this year from a devastating injury and also earned all-conference honors along with sophomores Hart Hoekzema and Owyn Webb. Freshman Cade Van Dusen just missed league recognition.
Nobis joined the golf team, transferring from Hackett Catholic Prep, after recovering from an injury suffered while playing club soccer a year ago.
“I got slide-tackled in one of our games and ended up snapping my fibula and tibia in half,” he said. “Broke both.
“I had surgery two weeks later and have a metal rod in my leg.”
Nobis did physical therapy twice a week for a month, then continued on his own at the gym.
Seifert said he is happy Nobis is far enough removed from the injury and healthy enough to golf.
“He’s worked on his game and figured out how to navigate injury and golf at the same time,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting him. It was a real bonus to get Max.”
DeVries said in spite of losing two seniors to graduation, he thinks this year’s team is even better than last season’s contender.
“I feel like our whole team is good at leading,” he said. “We all contribute.”
Learning from last year’s road to the Finals, DeVries said the keys to playing well are “showing up and helping the rest of the team. You learn that you have to really show up at practice and be there mentally and physically.”
Seifert said the junior has not had a bad round all season.
“He’s going to give me something I know we can count on, consistent leadership,” Seifert noted. “You need that in golf to set the pace. That pulls everybody along.”
Riggs said a key to success is to “keep grinding even if I have a bad first hole, fifth hole. You’ve got 18 holes of golf to play, so you just have to keep grinding until the last hole.”
While the Comets aren’t looking past Regionals, if they qualify for the Finals, their confidence should increase.
Division 3 will be hosted at Bedford Valley in Battle Creek, where the Comets shot a school-record 305 two weeks ago.
“As a coach I try to schedule our matches on courses where we know there will be significant play, and Bedford Valley is one of them that we go to once or twice because it’s always in the mix,” Seifer said. “Understanding the course better is really important, and being successful on it, I like our chances right along with everyone else’s.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Kalamazoo Christian’s Max Nobis follows his putt as it approaches the cup. (Middle) Clockwise from top left: Kalamazoo Christian boys golf coach Brian Seifert, junior Brixton DeVries, sophomore Ian Riggs and junior Max Nobis. (Action photo courtesy of Seifert; headshots by Pam Shebest.)