Preview: Reigning Champs Could Set Pace, but Contenders Ready to Climb
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 2, 2026
There are three strong repeat championship candidates teeing off at this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Boys Golf Finals.
But there are several more hopefuls hoping to enjoy that ultimate accomplishment for the first time, or first time in a while.
Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice in Division 1 and Auburn Hills Oakland Christian in Division 4 are both top-ranked teams seeking their first team titles in more than a decade. Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Essexville Garber, Charlevoix and Muskegon Western Michigan Christian are teams ranked among the top three in their divisions seeking a first Finals win. There will be four new individual medalists as well, as all four of last season’s were seniors.
Play begins both Friday and Saturday at 10 a.m. See below for more on a number of teams and individuals who could be in contention, and check out the Boys Golf page for full lineups and more.
Division 1 at Ferris State’s Katke Golf Course
Top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice, 2. Detroit Catholic Central, 3. Hartland.
Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice: The Warriors are seeking their first Finals championship since 2012, and after finishing sixth a year ago with just one senior in the lineup. Five of those golfers are back (including two who played a round apiece at the 2025 Final) and three placed among the top 11 individuals as Brother Rice won its Regional at Milford’s Mystic Creek in a tie-breaker over DCC. Sophomore William Smidt was the Regional medalist, senior Rocco Iabobelli tied for fourth and senior Joseph Karoutsos tied for 11th.
Detroit Catholic Central: The Shamrocks are seeking a third-straight Division 1 title and fourth over the last five seasons. Although they finished second with that tie-breaker at the Regional, senior David Krusinski tied for fourth, senior Jack Whitmore and junior Kyle Chong tied for seventh and senior Collin Davis tied for 11th. Krusinski, Whitmore and Davis were part of last season’s lineup, Whitmore finishing second in the individual standings and missing out on first by just a stroke. Krusinski and Whitmore were part of the 2024 championship lineup as well.
Hartland: The Eagles are seeking their first championship since winning Class A in 1997, and making their first appearance at the Finals since 2021. Hartland advanced this time with a Regional championship at Dunham Hills in Hartland, carding a 297 led by junior Aidan Oake tying for fourth individually. All five Eagles scored counted 73-76 strokes and placed among the top 10 (with ties), with senior Wyatt Johnson and junior Liam Kastamo tying for sixth and senior Michael Maurin and sophomore Jase Sensor tying for 10th.
Individuals: Five of last season’s top 15 (top 10 with ties) will return this weekend. Warren De La Salle Collegiate junior Julian Sinishtaj placed just behind DCC’s Whitmore last season, one stroke back in third, and Rochester Adams junior Nick Smith (sixth), Holland West Ottawa senior William Nagelvoort (tied for eighth) and Brighton senior Adam Forcier (tied for 10th) also are in the field this weekend. They’ll be joined by a new wave of contenders. Along with Brother Rice’s Smidt, Regional champions last week were Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern senior Mathieu Duflo, Midland Dow junior David Han, Utica Eisenhower junior Dylan Zahuranic, Brighton senior Brandon Lovejoy and junior Grady Bissett, and Berkley sophomore Jonah Sterling.
Division 2 at The Meadows at Grand Valley State
Top-ranked: 1. Grand Rapids Christian, 2. Ada Forest Hills Eastern, 3. Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
Grand Rapids Christian: The Eagles won last year’s championship, their second in three seasons, by nine strokes and return the individual runner-up in senior Cooper Reitsma and third-place (tie) finisher in senior Sawyer O’Grady, plus another starter in senior Ty Erickson. O’Grady was first and Reitsma second as Grand Rapids Christian won their Regional at Clearbrook in Saugatuck with a 303.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central: The Cougars won Division 3 in 2021 and 2023, and will make a run at the Division 2 team title after sending only Tommy Preston to the Finals as an individual qualifier last season. He finished 17th as a freshman and leads a lineup that won its Regional by a stroke last week at Katke, as he finished fourth and sophomore Brady Berkemeier placed ninth.
Grand Rapids South Christian: The Sailors finished fourth last season and entered this postseason ranked fourth, and finished second and six strokes back at Clearbrook last week. Junior Harris Hoekwater – who tied for eighth at last year’s Final – tied for third and senior Caleb Krosschell tied for eighth at last week’s Regional. Junior Drew Vanderheide also is back from last spring’s championship lineup.
Individuals: Now-seniors Andrew Chang and Henry Delzer tied for third and fifth, respectively, in leading Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood’s Finals lineup last spring. East Grand Rapids’ junior JP Levan returns after finishing seventh, Ada Forest Hills Eastern junior Jack Klimek is back after tying for eighth, and Allendale junior Sumner Meekhof will return looking to build on his tie for 10th. Add in the Grand Rapids Christian pair and seven of the top 11 (top 10 with ties) will play again this weekend, with Meekhof, O’Grady and Chang winning Regional titles last week and joined as well by Detroit Country Day senior Yousef Darwich, Bay City Western senior Drew Goik and Parma Western freshman Bentley Coon in topping their respective standings.
Division 3 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley
Top-ranked: 1. Jackson Lumen Christi, 2. Essexville Garber, 3. Grosse Ile.
Jackson Lumen Christi: The Titans carded a 292 Regional score last week, 16 strokes lower than any other team in Division 3 as they prepare to play for a repeat Finals title. They placed four of the top five scorers at Cascades in Jackson – junior Gabe Cooper was medalist, junior Brandon Kulka second, junior Carson Spencer third and freshman Sam Swihart tied for fourth. Kulka tied for third as Lumen won last season’s Final by 13 strokes.
Essexville Garber: The Dukes finished fourth at last year’s Final and are seeking their first top-two finish since placing second in 1999. The top four scorers from last year’s championship weekend all are back, and all placed among the top 10 as Garber won its Regional last week by 26 strokes at Scenic Golf & Country Club in Pigeon. Senior Devin Dueweke was second, senior Jonah Williams and freshman Nicholas Zeilinger tied for third, senior Lucas Schiefer tied for seventh and junior Aaron Theisen was 10th. Williams tied for eighth at last year’s Final.
Grosse Ile: After finishing sixth at last year’s Final, Grosse Ile will make a run at a first title since 2003 starting five seniors including three from last season’s lineup. The Red Devils finished second to Lumen Christi at their Cascades Regional with those three seniors leading the way; Nicholas Joly-Naso tied for fourth, Braden Chessor tied for sixth and Luke Lazorka tied for 10th.
Individuals: Along with Lumen Christi’s Kulka, Chesaning junior Luke Skaryd and Grand Rapids West Catholic senior Owen Kotowski tied for third at last season’s Final. Clare junior Bryce Wieferich is back after tying for sixth, with Garber’s Williams gives this field five of last year’s top nine returning. Grandville Calvin Christian senior Will Orme also will play after finishing ninth in LPD4 last spring. Joining Lumen Christi’s Cooper among Regional champs last week were Elk Rapids sophomore Blake Springstead, North Muskegon junior Luke Jones, Schoolcraft freshman Toby Degroote, Saginaw Valley Lutheran sophomore Reid Schisler and Ann Arbor Greenhills junior Keating Holland.
Division 4 at Forest Akers West
Top-ranked: 1. Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, 2. Charlevoix, 3. Muskegon Western Michigan Christian.
Auburn Hills Oakland Christian: The Lancers are pursuing their first Finals championship since 2011, and their 324 Regional score last week at The Fountains in Clarkston was the third-lowest in all of Division 4 even as it placed only second to Riverview Gabriel Richard’s 319 at that tournament. Sophomore Silas Combs was the medalist and could make a big jump this weekend after tying for 41st at least year’s Final in leading Oakland Christian to a 12th-place team finish. He’s one of four starters back from that lineup.
Charlevoix: The Rayders carded a 327 at their Regional at Birchwood Farms in Harbor Springs to finish first and book a return to the Finals. Seniors Bryce Boss and Joe Gaffney tied for third and junior Maxwell Drenth finished ninth at the Regional, and all three were also in the lineup when Charlevoix finished sixth at the 2024 Division 4 Final. The Rayders are seeking their first title and finished runner-up in 2014.
Muskegon Western Michigan Christian: WMC also is seeking a first championship and finished runner-up most recently in 2010. The Warriors advanced to the Finals for the first time since 2019 with a runner-up finish to No. 6 McBain Northern Michigan Christian at the Regional at Crystal Mountain’s Betsie Valley in Thompsonville. Junior Lucas Weare tied for third, junior Ian Vanderstelt tied for seventh and senior Zach Weare and junior Braeden Olsen tied for 10th.
Individuals: Senior Isaiah Ponstine from Wyoming Potter’s House Christian is the highest-returning placer from a year ago, when he tied for fifth, and NMC’s Blair Dezeeuw and Traverse City Christian’s Joey Mirabelli are back after tying for seventh. Joining Combs among Regional champs this time were Leland junior Hayden Vansteenhouse, NMC junior Dries Vannoord, Springport junior Brody Baum, Hillsdale Academy junior Edward Keaster and Bay City All Saints sophomore Robby Taylor.
PHOTO Essexville Garber’s Devin Dueweke tees off during last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Hackett Dominates Again in D4
June 15, 2013
By Tom Kendra
Special to Second Half
EAST LANSING – Father’s Day came early this year for Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Central golf coach Steve Rider.
The first gift came from his team, which brought home Hackett’s third MHSAA championship in the past five seasons at Saturday’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final.
The Fighting Irish dominated from the start, surging to a 10-stroke lead after Friday’s opening round and extending it further Saturday, finishing with consecutive rounds of 300 for a 600 total, 21 strokes better than second-place Saginaw Nouvel.
“We’ve been fortunate, and we’ve had a good group of kids come through here in recent years and they’ve been successful,” said Rider, who was still drying off after a celebratory dousing of water from his players. “Our goal was to win a state championship, and what a way to go out.”
Suttons Bay (630) placed third, followed by New Lothrop (642) and Fowler (657) in a tournament played in near-perfect conditions with no rain and very little wind at Forest Akers East golf course at Michigan State University.
The next early Father’s Day present came from his own son, Ted Rider, who won a two-man playoff on the second hole to repeat as Division 4 medalist.
Ted Rider opened with a 1-over 73 on Friday, then shot the round of his life to get into the playoff – a 3-under par 69 – for a 142 total. That equaled individual qualifier Zack Bialik of Manistee Catholic Central, a senior who shot back-to-back 1-under par rounds of 71.
Rider won on the second playoff hole when Bialik’s par putt just burned the edge of the cup.
"I honestly wasn’t thinking about the individual part of it at all this weekend,” said Ted Rider, who finished second at the Final as a sophomore before winning it the past two years. “It’s just so great to win the team state in my senior year. I’ve never been in a playoff at the state finals, so winning that was like icing on the cake.”
Coach Rider acknowledged his team will be hard-pressed to “three-peat” next spring, as he will be losing the top four players off of this year’s team – three of whom finished among the Top 10 individually Saturday.
In addition to Rider, Hackett junior Colin Joseph finished third overall after back-to-back rounds of even-par 72. Joseph will not be back with the Irish next year as his family is moving to Ohio.
Finishing ninth for Hackett was senior Luke Stull, who shot rounds of 73 and 75. Senior Spencer Walter (166) and sophomore Joe Wenzel (168) completed the scoring for the Irish.
After posing for some unique team pictures, including a cheerleader-like pyramid, Coach Rider reflected on an amazing five-year run, which now features three MHSAA championships and a runner-up finish a year ago to Lake Leelanau St. Mary.
“These kids love to play golf together. They push each other, but they love each other,” said Rider, who also coached his older son, Jack, on the Hackett championship teams of 2009 and 2010; he now plays for Grand Valley State’s golf team. “This has been a very special run.”
Coach Rider also has not decided whether he will bring back the Kelly green shorts, complete with white shamrocks, which one of the parents located earlier this month and his team and coaches wore on Friday and Saturday.
“I’m thinking we’ll probably retire the shorts, but I’m not sure; we played pretty well in them,” Rider said.
Saginaw Nouvel placed second behind the 1-2 punch of senior Brody Schiller and sophomore Nick Ludka.
Schiller shot consecutive 73s to finish fifth overall and Ludka, who had the low round on Friday with a 70 before falling back to a 77 on Saturday, placed sixth. The Panthers were unable to make a move on Hackett, with only one other score in the 70s.
Suttons Bay, New Lothrop and Fowler all struggled in Friday’s opening round and then played much better on Saturday to secure top-five team finishes.
Suttons Bay, which entered the Final ranked No. 2, wound up third after shooting 322 on Friday and 308 on Saturday. Senior Sean Lammy led the resurgence, bouncing back from a 76 with a 71 on Saturday, second only to Ted Rider’s 69, to finish tied for sixth individually.
New Lothrop did not have a single player in the Top 10, but locked up its fourth-place team finish by shaving six strokes off Friday’s score.
Fowler, paced by the steady play of junior Austin Feldpausch (74-73-147) was five shots better on Saturday than on Friday to hold off Pentwater for fifth place.
Other individuals placing in the Top 10 were Eau Claire senior Andy Vanderburg (145) who took sixth, and Petersburg-Summerfield senior Wyatt Spalding (148), who tied for ninth.
PHOTOS: (Top) Kalamazoo Hackett’s Ted Rider tees off during the individual playoff Saturday at Forest Akers East. (Middle) Manistee Catholic Central’s Zack Bialik watches one of his tee shots during the playoff. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)