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.)
Newberry Follows Record-Setting Medalist to 1st Boys Golf Finals Team Title
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
May 27, 2026
HOUGHTON — Newberry usually doesn’t bother with the mobile app utilized for scoring at the Upper Peninsula Finals because there isn’t cell service on most of the courses they play during the regular season.
But the technology worked fine at Portage Lake Golf Course in Houghton on Wednesday, and when the Division 2 Finals came down to one stroke, being able to track the score in real time made for high drama.
Coach Kenn Depew said it was the most nervous he’s ever been on a golf course. The players, he said, knew one bad shot could ruin the day for the entire team.
It also made the ending even sweeter.
When Newberry freshman Austin Boulton got out of the bunker and made the putt on the final hole, Depew, and the team, could finally exhale.
And celebrate.
“When Austin made that putt, I went up and gave him a big hug and said, ‘You just won a state championship,’” Depew said.
Newberry edged Hancock 316-317, putting an end to the Bulldogs’ two-year reign. The championship also was Newberry’s first in boys golf, with its previous high MHSAA Finals finish second in UP Class C-D in 1992.
“We knew we were in for a tough battle,” Depew said. “We had to play real good because Hancock was the defending champs, I think they returned everyone and they were on their home course. We knew we were in for a battle; we had to shoot some really good numbers.”
Sophomore Jarrett Zellar certainly did that. He shot a 4-under-par 68, the first time anyone in the U.P. in Division 2 had shot in the 60s at the Finals. He ended five shots ahead of Boulton, who finished runner-up with a stellar round of his own.
“Basically my putting was a big factor,” Zellar said. “I never really putted that good before. Somehow everything was clicking.”
Depew stayed away from Zellar as it was pretty apparent early on the kind of day he was going to have.
“I’ve played quite a bit of golf with Jarrett and he was in a zone,” Depew said. “I went and dealt with the other four players because it became very apparent that every stroke was going to matter to us.”
Zellar will be an upperclassmen next year.
“Last year Jarrett was the best freshman I ever coached, and now this year he’s the best sophomore,” Depew said. He didn’t quite finish the word “sophomore,” continuing instead, “He’s the best player I ever coached.”
And Zellar does far more than putt.
“He’s really the total package,” Depew said. “He hits it good off the tee. He hits irons good, he chips good and today he really got hot with the putter as well. So that’s a great combination to have.”
For Zellar, it was also a great combination to win the U.P. Division 2 title individually and with his team.
“It felt pretty good,” he said. “It was the defending team that we beat; we beat them on their home course.”
Everyone stepped up to do that, Depew said, including their No. 4 golfer, Oliver Sevarns, who also hit a big putt late.
Nine golfers finished the day shooting under 80. Ironwood’s Caleb Sprague shot a 76 in a tie for third place with Kirby Storm, who led the way for runner-up Hancock and was the only senior among the top five.
Baraga’s Alden Leiter and Painesdale Jeffers’ Tage Rajala rounded out the top five with 77s.
PHOTOS (Top) Newberry's Jarrett Zellar follows a drive during Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Division 2 Final at Portage Lake. (Middle) Jeffers' Carson Lesperance tracks one of his shots. (Photos by Jason Juno.)