Second-Round Surge Lands Orchard Lake St. Mary's 1st Finals Victory
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 8, 2024
EAST LANSING — Tom Brecht had waited 28 years for this moment, but he could think about only one thing in the immediate aftermath of the Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final at Forest Akers West.
“It’s cold,” Brecht said after getting a bucket of ice water dumped on him by his golfers. “I wish it was 90 about degrees out there; then it would be OK.”
It was the first time Brecht had experienced the traditional celebratory bath, which was fitting because it was also the first time he’d experienced a Finals title since taking over as the head coach of Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in 1996.
An athletic program steeped in tradition across many sports, St. Mary’s will now get to hang a championship banner for boys golf after the Eaglets closed with a strong second day to win their first title.
Trailing by one shot after Friday’s first round, St. Mary’s shot four strokes better as a team on the second day for a final total of 603 (304-299), edging runner-up Grand Rapids Christian by one stroke.
The Eagles had entered in fourth place after shooting a first round score of 307, but shot a 297 on the second day. Richland Gull Lake was third at 609.
All of it obviously left Brecht overjoyed and beaming with warmth in spite of the cold water dripping down his back.
“I thought it would come,” Brecht said of winning a state title. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be coaching – maybe one or two more years. I’m just very thankful and blessed.”
Leading the way for St. Mary’s was senior Cooper Eaton, who shot a two-day score of 144 (71-73). Sophomore Blaise Król was next with a 147 (74-73), followed by junior Ethan Mukhtar (78-78-156), sophomore Mikey Karwaski (81-75-156) and senior Ben Carroll (82-82-164).
St. Mary’s hadn’t won a tournament going into the weekend, but close calls over the regular season turned into a breakthrough at the most important event of all.
“It’s surreal,” Eaton said. “It’s a dream come true. All the guys put it together, and it was our day. We really took care of business.”
Also taking care of business was Grand Rapids Catholic Central senior Will Preston, who like St. Mary’s broke through for the first time in what was his final high school tournament.
Preston was the individual runner-up at the last two Division 3 Finals and a part of Catholic Central’s 2023 team title.
Moving to Division 2 this year, Catholic Central didn’t qualify as a team, but Preston did individually and made good on another opportunity.
“Obviously being runner-up two years in a row sucks,” Preston said. “But you take that experience and do your best to move and keep it coming.”
After a 2-under round of 70 on the first day, Preston shot a 1-under round of 71 to finish at 141, one shot ahead of Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice junior Leandro Pinili and three shots ahead of Eaton.
The last hole for Preston was the par-4 No. 3 hole, and he knew he was two shots ahead teeing off.
He said it didn’t change his strategy of hitting an iron off of the tee, but he sprayed that shot into the rough and had to chip out.
Preston eventually laid three facing a chip shot near the green, but got up and down from there to secure a bogey and the title.
“I didn’t have my best stuff today, actually,” said Preston, who will play in college for Penn State. “But I was able to keep with it and had a couple of key up-and-downs later in the round. Just kept with it when I was struggling.”
PHOTOS (Top) Orchard Lake St. Mary's Cooper Eaton celebrates after a drive Saturday at Forest Akers West. (Middle) Grand Rapids Catholic Central's Will Preston follows a chip. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
This Time, Cranbrook Kingswood Comes from 12 Back to Clinch Repeat Finals Win
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 6, 2026
ALLENDALE — Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood boys golf coach John Minnich didn’t need to deliver a special inspirational or motivational speech to his team after the first day of this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals at The Meadows at Grand Valley State.
Instead, with his team in fifth place and trailing by 12 shots going into Saturday’s final round, Minnich resorted to simple math as the primary message.
“I said, ‘We were 15 back (after the first day) last year,”’ Minnich said. “We’re only 12 back. That’s three shots per player. That’s nothing. I said, ‘You guys are good. We can make up three shots per player.’”
Cranbrook did that and more, shooting a sizzling second-day score of 292 to rally and win its first Finals championship in boys golf since 2014.
The Cranes finished with a two-day score of 602, four shots ahead of 2025 champion Grand Rapids Christian and five better than Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
On Saturday, Cranbrook got a 70 from freshman Tim Delzer, a 71 from senior Brennan Tato, a 74 from senior Henry Delzer and a 75 from senior Andrew Chang to complete the comeback – and in the opinion of Minnich, go down in history.
“I’ve been telling these guys all year that they are the best team in the state regardless of division,” Minnich said. “Division 1, 2, 3, 4, you guys are the best team. That’s the deepest team I’ve had. I’ve got eight, nine guys that I can put in that rotation. I have said that if we could play eight and count six, nobody could touch us. This is probably my favorite team, my best team and my closest team.”
Minnich said one factor contributing to his team’s success was its starting position on the course. Cranbrook started on holes 15, 16 and 17, and holding firm on those holes at the beginning of the round paid dividends later on.
“Holes 15 through 18 on a lot of golf courses is the toughest stretch of holes on the course,” Minnich said. “We played those early in the round. I knew that if we could make up some shots or at least hold our ground early, that those other teams would have to play those holes down the stretch. We were already through them.”
Grand Rapids Christian was seeking its third title in four years, but had to settle for the runner-up trophy after holding a one-shot lead over Catholic Central after the first day.
“I thought those kids fought really hard,” Grand Rapids Christian coach Kevin Broene said. “Golf is so difficult to play perfectly all the time with the ups and downs. I thought they played so hard today.”
Individually, 18 holes weren’t enough to decide the medalist.
East Grand Rapids junior JP Levan and DeWitt senior Justin Steinman finished with identical 1-under-par scores after 36 holes, creating a playoff to determine the winner.
Steinman won on the second playoff hole, which was the par-5 No. 9. He hit his drive to roughly 220 yards from the green, hit a 6-iron to within 10 feet of the hole and two-putted from there for a birdie and the win.
“It was a little nerve-racking, but it was fun,” said Steinman, who will play in college at Saginaw Valley State. “It was a blast. I love playoffs.”
Ada Forest Hills Eastern junior Jack Klimek and Catholic Central sophomore Tommy Preston tied for third at 1-over-par.
(Click for more photos from High School Sports Scene.)