Swartz Creek Claims 1st Title Since '67
June 7, 2014
By Mark Meyer
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – Scratch and claw, chip and putt. Scratch and claw, stay composed. Scratch and claw, win MHSAA title by the narrowest of margins.
The Swartz Creek boys golf team hoisted its first MHSAA golf title since 1967 on Saturday in the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final at Forest Akers East after finishing one shot better than Detroit Catholic Central, 584-585, and by five fewer than third-place Rockford (589). The Dragons had entered the final round tied with Catholic Central at 293 and ahead of Rockford by one shot.
Swartz Creek senior Ben Zyber shot a 3-under-par 69 to tie for overall medalist honors with a two-day total of 141, while fellow senior Mike Kelley (72-70) was one stroke off the pace at 142. Senior Jack Weller carded a 77 on Saturday to finish at 146, while junior Hunter Hull rebounded from a 91 on Friday to shoot 75 on Saturday.
“We liked our chances coming into the finals,” said fifth-year Swartz Creek coach Wesley Hull. “These three seniors have played varsity for four years, and lately they’ve been playing excellent golf. We’ve been struggling to find a fourth, but (Saturday) we had a junior come in special for us after a bad round yesterday.
“They played their hearts out today. We’re a grinding team, not a country club team. Every hole counts for us.”
Aside from the MHSAA title, the last time Swartz Creek qualified for the Finals was 1969. Hull’s message to his team prior to the final round was fairly straightforward.
“We have nothing to lose, so let’s go out and have fun,” said Hull, a 1982 Swartz Creek grad who played four years of golf for his alma mater. “This is the chance of a lifetime.”
Midland Dow junior Ben Roeder made the most of his weekend by winning the individual title in a three-hole, five-man playoff over Seth Terpstra of Grandville, Jordan Bohannon of Birmingham Groves, Joel Pietila of Rockford and Zyber.
Roeder made consecutive pars at hole Nos. 1, 9 and 10 to claim the title over Terpstra. On the third playoff hole, Roeder’s gap wedge from 118 yards left him within two-putt range while Terpstra struggled to recover after an errant tee shot.
“I’ve put in a lot of hard work over the past years and knew that one day it would all come through,” Roeder said. “(The playoff) wasn’t as nerve-wracking as I thought it might be. It was great having a big crowd around us with everyone watching.”
Roeder, who reached the MHSAA Finals by capturing one of two qualifying spots in a five-man Regional playoff, kept his head low when Terpstra was attempting to save par on a chip shot from just off the green.
“I’ve watched enough golf on TV where someone made a great shot to continue a playoff, so I didn’t want to get my hopes too high until it didn’t go in,” Roeder said. “I definitely had some help from above because my approach (on the third playoff hole) took a favorable kick into the green.”
Bohannon and Max Rispler of Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central tied for lowest score Saturday with identical 4-under-par 68s. The remainder of the individual two-day leaderboard consisted of James Piot (Detroit Catholic Central), Charlie Bolton (U-D Jesuit) and Kelley at 142, while Rispler was joined by Chris Kozler (Plymouth), Justin Pahl (White Lake Lakeland) and Andrew Walker (Battle Creek Lakeview) at 143.
Grandville (596), Plymouth (597) and White Lake Lakeland (598) completed the team top six followed by Detroit U-D Jesuit (604), Battle Creek Lakeview (605), Saline (610) and Ann Arbor Skyline (613).
Fenton junior John Lloyd aced the par-3, 13th hole on Friday to complete a rare double for a pair of classmates. At the 2013 girls Final in October – also on the East course at Forest Akers – Fenton sophomore Madi Shegos aced the par-3 18th hole.
PHOTOS: (Top) Swartz Creek accepts its first MHSAA golf championship trophy since 1967. (Middle) Midland Dow’s Ben Roeder follows through on a drive at Forest Akers East; he won the individual championship after a playoff. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)
High 5s - 4/17/12
April 17, 2012
Each week, Second Half gives "High 5s" to multiple athletes and a team that have performed exceptionally on the field or made a notable impact off of it.
Please offer your suggestions by e-mail to [email protected]. Below are this week's honorees:
Sarah Appold
Saginaw Valley Lutheran senior
Softball
Appold is putting the final touches on a career that places her among the best ever at Saginaw Valley Lutheran. She holds multiple Chargers strikeout records and appears three times in the MHSAA record book for strikeouts in a game -- her best of 15 in a 2010 contest is tied for fifth-best in MHSAA history. Appold is 2-0 this season with batters hitting just .098 against her. She's also earned all-state recognition for volleyball and basketball this school year.
Up next: Appold has signed to play softball at Saginaw Valley State University and intends to study nursing.
I learned the most about pitching from: "Probably my dad, Randy Appold. He was pitching coach up until my seventh grade year. And Doug Gillis (out of Wixom), my pitching coach now."
My favorite athletes are: Detroit Tigers Austin Jackson and Justin Verlander. "My parents always took me to Tigers games when I was little, and I like watching them."
Try to keep up: Although Appold has never pitched to her baseball-playing friends, a few have caught her. "I've had a lot of people since freshman year ask me to pitch against them, to see how they'd do. I think I'd handle myself against them. ... There's a lot of different movement (to softball pitches)."
Nick Stiles
Bath senior
Baseball
Stiles is finishing up an all-state career for the Bees that included a trip to the Division 3 Semifinals in 2010. He's currently tied with former standout Brennan Powers for Bath's career pitching wins record with 33, enough to also get him on the MHSAA record book list in that category. Stiles is 2-0 this season and has yet to give up an earned run -- including over 10 innings Monday, although he didn't get a decision in either game that afternoon. He also plays center field.
Up next: Stiles said a few colleges said they'd like to watch him this season before offering a scholarship. Also his school's valedictorian, Stiles, has been accepted by Michigan State and could go there as a student only. He'd major in human biology with an eye on becoming an orthopedic surgeon -- which began to interest him after he suffered an ankle injury as a sophomore. He also might consider walking-on at MSU or playing on the club team.
My best pitch is: "My fastball. I've got the most control over it. I can put it pretty much anywhere I want."
I learned the most about pitching from: "My 14-and-under baseball coach Dave Morena. He had a certain way of doing things, and he knew what he was talking about. He taught me pretty much everything I know."
I look up to: "Justin Verlander. He works fast. He does throw his fastball a lot too. He's confident in his other pitches, but he likes to go to his fastball."
My career highlight: "The state Semifinal run. Records are records, made to be broken and all of that nonsense. But the run of the team; we weren't expected to do it, and the whole town followed us. Even though we lost, it was a great experience."
Grand Rapids West Catholic boys golf
After falling just five strokes short of winning the Kent County Classic on April 12 at The Highlands (behind top-ranked Division 1 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central), West Catholic took on some of the state's top Division 2 and 3 teams the next day at Michigan State's Forest Akers East -- and edged reigning Division 2 champion DeWitt by a stroke with a 303 to win the Haslett Invitational.
The Forest Akers field including Division 2 Nos. 1 and 2 DeWitt and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood, respectively, and Division 3 No. 1 Jackson Lumen Christi and No. 9 Hanover-Horton -- with West Catholic ranked No. 4 in Division 3 entering the tournament. Junior Sam Weatherhead was medalist at both the Kent County Classic and Haslett Invitational, shooting 68 and 69, respectively, to win by four and three strokes.