Pipkorn Emerges with Season-Best Score to Lead North Central's Repeat Run
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
May 28, 2025
ESCANABA — Powers North Central’s Nathan Pipkorn hadn’t shot in the 70s all season, and he was golfing with the No. 3s at Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Division 3 Boys Golf Final.
He was the No. 1 by the end of the day.
Pipkorn beat his previous season best by six strokes and became the champion by carding a 76 at Escanaba Country Club. He finished ahead of freshman runner-up Christian VanDamme of Rock Mid Peninsula by five strokes.
“I really, really picked it up today and got it done,” Pipkorn said. “My chipping and putting was absolutely phenomenal today. I two or one-putt just about everything, and I went up and down all the time.”
Pipkorn also led the Jets to a second consecutive team championship, their third in the last four seasons. Lake Linden-Hubbell finished runner-up.
“That’s the one that matters the most,” Pipkorn said. “I’m glad we got it done.”
The sophomore was the first Jet to win a U.P. Finals title since Bryson Mercier won his third straight in 2022.
“I definitely didn’t expect it,” Pipkorn said. “I’m usually not in this type of situation. But I’m very excited.”
The day didn’t start well. He bogeyed the first three holes.
“But after that I really picked it up,” he said.
The sophomore thought he was probably in the hunt after finishing even on the front nine.
“It was when I saw the second-place guy bogey about four holes in a row,” he said. “Then I knew.”
They weren’t golfing together because Pipkorn was back with the 3s. Golfers keep score on their phones these days, and a side benefit is seeing where you stack up against the rest of the competition.
“He can score,” North Central coach Zeke Strand said. “When he’s playing well, he keeps the golf course in front of him. Chipping and putting, getting up and down, he’s a gamer, that kind of thing, too.”
It was a great day all the way around for the Jets, who added to their extensive MHSAA trophy collection. Besides their recent golf success, North Central has won five Finals titles since 8-player football started in 2011, and three straight Class D boys basketball titles from 2015-17, a stretch during which they never lost a game.
Strand was just worried about keeping their success on the golf course going.
“It’s my first year coaching golf, so our previous golf coach said I got to get it again,” Strand said. “We did. We played well, and we earned it. It feels great.”
The Jets’ Alex Pipkorn also finished among the top five. He and Lake Linden-Hubbell’s Tyler Axford both carded 82s to tie for third. Big Bay de Noc’s Parker Pederson finished with an 84 to round out the top five.
PHOTOS (Top) Power North Central's Nathan Pipkorn tees off Wednesday at Escanaba Country Club. (Middle) Mid Peninsula's Christian VanDamme chips toward the green during his Finals round. (Photos by Jason Juno.)
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.)