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.
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Norway, West Iron's Thomson Take Championship Strides
By
Matt McCarthy
Special for Second Half
June 2, 2021
GAASTRA — West Iron County's Nathan Thomson enjoyed the comforts of competing at his home course Wednesday, as the Wykons senior captured the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 2 boys golf championship at the George Young Recreational Complex in Iron County.
Thomson, a senior, shot a 77 to take home medalist.
"The greens were really fast today, faster than I have ever seen here," said Thomson. "I play here almost every single day. But it's awesome to win U.P.'s here."
It was also a blustery day at times, which Thomson noted came up in spurts.
"There was a point on hole 11, where I could see the ball moving on the green because of the wind, as I was waiting to putt," Thomson added.
Norway took home the team title by a significant margin over runner-up Hancock, 328-357, with four Knights finishing among the top seven individuals including runner-up Jeffrey VanHolla with a 78.
The team title was Norway’s fourth and first since 1988. The Knights had finished Division 2 runners-up six of the last eight seasons, including back-to-back to West Iron County in both 2018 and 2019.
Evan Anderson shot an 80 to finish third, followed by Drew Anderson with an 84 in fifth and Carson Chartier with an 86 for seventh. Tyler Parker with a 105 rounded out Norway's lineup on the day.
Two years ago (before COVID-19 caused last season to be canceled), Drew Anderson was second and VanHolla and Thomson tied for third at the Division 2 Final which also was at George Young.
"I don't know what else was different here today besides the fast greens, but I usually shoot lower scores here, especially the last two rounds I played here before today," said Drew Anderson, a junior this season.
Fourth place among individuals went to Mason Mikesch of Hancock with an 81. Finishing in sixth place was Jeff Starzynski of Stephenson with an 85, and Justin Carrick of Brimley and Ricky Brown of Iron Mountain tied for eighth place with 87s. Chad Nordstrom of Hancock and Josh Magnusen of Newberry tied for 10th with 90s.
On the team side, Brimley was third with a 382. The next three teams were separated by two strokes – St. Ignace fourth at 405, Iron Mountain fifth at 406 and Pickford seven carding a 407.
Newberry at 416, Watersmeet at 419, Munising at 422, Stephenson at 433 and Bark River-Harris at 520 rounded out the team scores.
PHOTOS: (Top) West Iron County's Nathan Thomson unloads a drive during his championship round Wednesday. (Middle) Norway celebrates its first team Finals title since 1988. (Photos by Matt McCarthy.)