Team of the Month: Houghton Boys Golf
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 24, 2022
The Houghton boys golf team won its 10th Finals championship this season, and sixth Upper Peninsula Division 1 title over the last 10 seasons. Two of those other four seasons, the Gremlins finished runners-up. With a run like that, more success isn't going to surprise anyone.
But this spring’s team exceeded expectations.
The outdoor portion of Houghton’s boys golf season lasted about five weeks. The Gremlins’ home course, Portage Lake, opened May 9, and the team’s first outdoor practice was that day. But by June 1, the Gremlins were shooting in the 320s as a team and clinching another Division 1 title – earning the MHSAA/Applebee’s “Team of the Month” honor for May with that first day of June an exclamation mark on another fantastic season.
“Some of our other teams have had more golf talent. But these guys have worked hard and gotten better and better and kept improving and exceeded expectations a little bit,” said Houghton coach Corey Markham, who also leads the perennially state-contending hockey program. “It’s an awesome group.”
After finishing UPD1 runner-up and five strokes back of champion Marquette in 2021, Houghton took back the top spot this time shooting a 329 at Sage Run to edge Marquette by five strokes. Sophomore Marino Pisani (78) and junior Camden Markham (83) finished second and tied for eighth, respectively, in the individual standings. Juniors Cooper Leonard (84) and Ryan Schmierer (84), and senior Ryan Vlahos (85) – who also was back from the 2021 group – rounded out the winning lineup.
Corey Markham noted how his three returnees helped the lineup find more consistency this season. Marino dropping his scores into the 70s also was a big plus. “He puts in the most time and just lives golf,” Markham said.
Boys golf teams in Michigan could begin practice March 14 and competition March 21. The Upper Peninsula as a whole, due to winter weather, generally gets going later – but Markham said teams in the southern U.P. have even a two or three-week head start on those at the northern tip of the peninsula.
Markham called what his team can do with practice over that first month “minimal” – for obvious reasons – and also as it shares indoor space with the softball and baseball teams also waiting for the weather to turn. The golf team does some work on rules and with video, and uses a simulator to bring back some of the muscle memory from the previous summer.
The Gremlins played in two tournaments during the last week of April – nearly two weeks before that first outdoor practice. They finished third in both of those events and in another May 10 the day after they’d finally gotten outside. But soon after the run started, and Houghton clinched the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference championship on the way to finishing with another Finals title.
“Our biggest success is due to our junior program at our golf course,” Markham said. “You get kids out, and they play a lot in the summer. Their basics and their background are the reasons they’re able to step in and start doing well with a short season.”
Past Teams of the Month, 2021-22
April: Plainwell girls soccer - Read
March: West Bloomfield girls basketball - Read
February: Cadillac girls skiing - Read
January: Hartland hockey - Read
December: Midland Dow girls basketball - Read
November: Reese girls volleyball - Read
October: Birmingham Groves boys tennis - Read
Calvin Christian's Outstanding Ending to 2024 Sparking Strong 2025 Start
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
April 24, 2025
GRANDVILLE – If only last year’s Division 4 Boys Golf Final had been extended another day.
Grandville Calvin Christian played its best during the final round of the 2024 season, and it resulted in the team’s highest Finals finish since 1990.
The Squires finished runner-up to repeat champion Clarkston Everest Collegiate at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University, just eight strokes back after entering the final round in fifth place and trailing by 17.
“Last year I think the guys really didn’t know what to expect going into the state tournament,” Calvin Christian coach Herm Medema said. “But they were ready to play and were familiar with the golf course, which really helps. They found out they could play with some of the higher-echelon teams that we are trying to chase and emulate. That we can do as well as they have in the past.
“We had a really good second day so we are kind of feeding off of that, and they were wishing it was a three-day tournament.”
The Squires recorded the best team total on the second day of the Final, posting an impressive 322 – a 28-stroke improvement from their first round.
Three golfers improved by nine strokes or more from the first round, including junior Will Orme. He fired a second-day 75 after an opening-round 87 and jumped into seventh place individually.
As this year’s No. 1 player, Orme, a returning all-state selection, is one of four starters back from that Finals lineup. The experience and veteran leadership has created lofty expectations.
“Coming into the season, we had thoughts of being a good team because of how well we did last year,” Orme said. “Even though we got second, we knew we were only losing one guy, so coming back this year I think our confidence was higher than ever.
“We were all excited to see how well we could do and get our revenge this year.”
So far, the Squires have built off their success from a year ago.
A win in their first Ottawa-Kent Conference Silver jamboree was a promising start, and they followed with a victory at the 15-team Kent City Invitational.
“We’ve played pretty good this year, and anytime you can have experience then it’s really going to help,” Medema said. “And they really like each other. These guys really care for each other, and they do a lot of things together. They go on spring break together, they hang out together and they play other sports together.
“Most of them are multi-sport athletes too. Two of them play basketball and did really well, and our No. 3 guy was an all-state hockey player. I think it helps a ton to have multi-sport athletes.”
Three seniors – Josh VanderWal, Mason Schroeder and Caleb Teusink – occupy the next three spots after Orme.
Schroeder has been playing exceptionally well early this season with a second-place finish Monday at Egypt Valley Golf Course and the medalist honor in Kent City.
It’s been a positive sign that any of the top four can go low on any given day.
“I think our biggest strength is any guy can go out and just have a great round,” Orme said. “And when one of us doesn't, then the others can cover for each other because we’re pretty consistent. We don’t have really bad rounds, and we play well off each other. We mesh really well.”
The Squires have steadily moved up in their Finals standings over the last few seasons. They placed ninth in 2022 and seventh two years ago before last spring’s runner-up finish.
“We’ve been to the state tournament three years now, and it’s about experience,” VanderWal said. “Each time it’s gotten easier. The nerves are going to be there, but it’s about how you deal with them, and all of us have another year under our belt.
“We have a deep team this year, so everyone is picking each other up and we’re doing well. It's been fun, but I’m hoping for warmer weather and less wind.”
While the MHSAA Tournament is still several weeks away, Calvin Christian is simply trying to make strides in the meantime in hopes of competing once again for a Finals championship.
“I think we all want it pretty bad,” Orme said. “We had a great time and it was a great experience last year getting runner-up, but we are all hungry this year and want to get what we wanted last year. I think we have just as good, if not better, chance this year.”
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Calvin Christian’s Caleb Teusink sends an approach shot during last season’s Division 4 Final at The Meadows. (Middle) The Squires take a team photo after last year’s runner-up finish; all but one golfer is back this spring. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)