In 2nd Season, Martians Golf Takes Off
October 14, 2015
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
GOODRICH — The team to beat in this year's regional had been the runner-up in the MHSAA Division 3 girls golf tournament the last three seasons.
Another contender had five championships and 25 top-10 finishes at the MHSAA Finals on its resumé.
And Goodrich?
Well, a year ago, while Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and Flint Powers Catholic already had early-season tournaments under their belts as they prepared for another run to the finals, all Goodrich's program had was a single piece of paper sitting in the school office. Goodrich never had a girls golf team, but had two talented sisters in the school who hoped there was enough interest to form a club team in 2014.
"We just put a sign-up sheet in the office," Goodrich junior Sydni Harding said. "They made daily announcements. Finally, we had six. Once I saw that, it was like, 'Sweet, we've got a team.'"
Time was of the essence, because school had already started and the highly compressed girls golf season had already been going for several weeks. Before Jason Bescoe was hired as coach, sisters Sydni and Taylor Harding took their new teammates out to the Flint Elks Club to introduce them to a sport that most of them had never played.
"We were like, 'OK, just get hitting, we'll work on the swing mechanics later,'" Sydni said. "We needed to get ready and be prepared. We practiced like that for a few weeks. (Bescoe) brought in a couple of swing pros and really worked with us. They just practiced. Practice makes you better. They got the rhythm down and everything."
By season's end, Goodrich finished a respectable fifth of 14 teams in the MHSAA Regional at The Emerald in St. Johns, with Taylor Harding qualifying individually for the finals.
It was a great start for a team that didn't exist when the season started.
But there would be much more in store for the Martians in 2015.
In its first full season, Goodrich entered the postseason ranked No. 7 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 and qualified for this weekend’s MHSAA Final in East Lansing by placing second in a tough regional tournament at Holly Meadows Golf Course in Capac.
Goodrich finished only two shots behind third-ranked Cranbrook Kingswood, the Division 3 runner-up the last three years, and 29 shots ahead of ninth-ranked Powers, which failed to qualify for only the third time in the last 25 years.
"Going from nowhere to top 10 in the state is phenomenal," Sydni said. "We have a tough division. It's smaller, but you've got a lot of good girls who can compete. When we saw that we were ranked, we said, 'This is something special. Let's take advantage of it.'"
The Martians have exceeded all reasonable expectations for such a fledgling program, but they aren't settling for just showing up at Forest Akers West Golf Course.
"I think it's awesome we're going as a team," senior Taylor said. "We have one of the best teams. I'm so excited. I want to win so badly. I think we could definitely win; I really do believe that. If everyone's on their game and everyone puts in enough time and effort, we really could."
The Harding sisters led Goodrich to the finals, tying for first place with 78s in the regional before Taylor won a one-hole playoff.
"I definitely wanted to win," Taylor said. "If I had to come in second to anybody, I would gladly have it be her — and vice versa."
"At first, it was nerve-racking," Sydni said. "Then we got up to the first tee and we were like, 'Whatever happens, happens. I'm happy if I win; I'm happy if you win. So let's just go out and play, pretend it's just us messing around.'"
Having two outstanding golfers at the top of the lineup certainly helps, but the Martians wouldn't be going to Forest Akers West as a team this weekend without massive improvement by girls who had little to no golf experience before last fall.
"The reason for our success this year isn't because of Sydni and Taylor; they've always been good," Bescoe said. "It's the work ethic of the rest of the team, the way they strove to bring themselves to what Sydni and Taylor are. They're close. Sydni and Taylor improved by a few strokes, but the other ones improved by dozens of strokes. I'm so proud of them."
The most notable success story is senior Megan Reimel. Reimel shot in the 140s last year, but worked on her game and shot 83 to finish 11th in the regional and third on Goodrich's team. Senior Aaron Monroe shot 91 to place 17th in the regional. Freshman Elizabeth Gibbs' 94 didn't count in the team score, but she was still in the top half of the field, placing 24th out of 54 players.
"We started last year, and we were just happy to have five players, to be totally honest," Taylor said. "This year, I'm so happy that our third and fourth golfers have really picked it up. Really, everyone's improved. We're the only ones who played golf. We recruited softball players and volleyball players."
The only Goodrich player with high school golf experience before the formation of the team was Taylor Harding, who spent her freshman and sophomore years on the boys golf team. She made the Martians' varsity lineup for districts and regionals as a sophomore.
"I was younger and the boys were definitely intimidating," she said. "The distance helped me coming to the girls team. I think I'm better with the rules. That was a big thing for boys season."
Taylor Harding is also the only Goodrich player with experience in the MHSAA Finals. She finished eighth individually last year, rebounding from a first-round 86 to close with a 78.
"I was very nervous, but it ended up being really well worth it," Taylor said. "I learned a lot about myself and my golf game. I definitely improved. Just being there with all the girls who are your skill level is extremely helpful. It's always better when you play with someone better than yourself. I really wasn't expecting anything out of it. I just wanted to play the best I could, go out there and play."
Bescoe isn't concerned that his other four golfers have no experience in finals.
"I don't think it matters," he said. "They're fearless. I think the other schools who haven't been there may be at a disadvantage, but our girls have the head for it. They're fearless. They go get it."
Perhaps Goodrich's rapid rise shouldn't be such a surprise. Goodrich is a golfing community, with a public course and country club within the school district's borders. Boys golf has been a strong sport at the school for years, as the Martians won the 1977 MHSAA Class C championship and have finished in the top 10 on 24 occasions.
As an athletic program, Goodrich has won seven MHSAA championships across three girls sports since the start of the 2002-03 school year.
The goal for Bescoe is to keep the program growing after the Harding sisters graduate. Goodrich has 10 players on its team.
"It's always a goal to build and grow," he said. "Our objective this year is to grow the program. We have to get younger kids involved in order to keep this success going. Our going to the state tournament will hopefully inspire some of the other kids to jump on board."
Regardless of how the Martians perform this weekend, Bescoe has reasons to be proud of his players beyond their talent on the golf course.
"My favorite part about the girls is how nice and polite they are," he said. "After every tournament, as a group they go up and thank the other coach, thank the staff in the pro shop. That really is what makes me most proud of them. They realize that every golf course they play on, someone is letting them play on it for free. I'm glad they realize that."
Bill Khan served as a sportswriter at The Flint Journal from 1981-2011 and currently contributes to the State Champs! Sports Network. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTO: Goodrich’s players stand together in front of the scoreboard after last week’s MHSAA Regional, from left – junior Sydni Harding, senior Megan Reimel, senior Taylor Harding, senior Aaron Monroe and freshman Elizabeth Gibbs. (Photo courtesy of Renae Reimel.)
Preview: Pair of Returning Champions, Familiar Team Favorites Top Finals Lineup
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 16, 2025
A pair of returning individual champions are expected to be in the hunt one more time during this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Girls Golf Finals.
Dexter senior Avery Manning in Division 2 and Grand Rapids Christian senior Lillian O’Grady in Division 3 are back seeking repeats, while on the team side Grand Rapids Catholic Central is top-ranked seeking a third-straight Division 3 title and Farmington Hills Mercy can run its Division 2 championship streak to four.
But those are just some of the more familiar contenders. Northville in Division 1 also is top-ranked and seeking a repeat, but on the whole this weekend’s Finals also should provide several opportunities for new stars to emerge.
Play begins both Friday and Saturday at 10 a.m., and live scoring is available through iWanamaker. See the Girls Golf page for qualifiers, results and more from all four divisions. Below is a glance at several team and individual contenders:
LP Division 1 at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University
Top-ranked: 1. Northville, 2. Rochester Adams, 3. Macomb Dakota.
Northville emerged last season for its first championship since 2021 but fifth over the last seven seasons. The Mustangs dominated that Final with two freshmen and only one senior, winning by 46 strokes. Adams, the back-to-back champion in 2022 and 2023, finished fourth a year ago.
Northville: The Mustangs cruised to a 35-stroke Regional win last week at Salem Hills, carding a 302 that was the lowest team score at any LPD1 Regional by 20 strokes. Sophomores McKenzie Stevens and Cam Baker finished first and second, respectively – they were the two freshmen in last year’s lineup and tied for eighth at the 2024 Final. Junior Naaz Gil also tied for eighth last year and was fourth at the Regional last week. Seniors Grace Bae and Serena Ku tied for seventh and finished ninth, respectively, at Salem Hills, and Ku also was part of last year’s Finals lineup.
Rochester Adams: Senior Hannah Wang and sophomore Saisha Dhawan were part of last season’s lineup, and Wang finished 12th individually and also was part of the championship five in 2023. She tied for fifth at the Regional last week at Fieldstone in Auburn Hills as Adams won as a team by nine strokes ahead of Dakota. Four sophomores fill out the rest of the lineup, with Alayna Scanlon and Leah Blackmore tying for seventh at the Regional.
Macomb Dakota: The Cougars moved up from No. 6 to No. 3 heading into Regionals, and they followed junior runner-up Marissa Monteith to last week’s team runner-up finish at Fieldstone. Sophomore Dakota Cooper tied for fifth as well, and they were the team’s low scorers last season when Dakota finished third at the Final. Junior Angelina Accuso and senior Sophia Martin also are back from the 2024 lineup.
Individuals: Along with the three Northville golfers who were part of a tie for eighth, only two of the last season’s top seven are back this weekend – Romeo sophomore Tula Puzzuoli, who finished runner-up, and Rochester senior Ananya Kumar, who placed fifth. Puzzuoli edged Monteith in a tie-breaker for a Regional title last week, and joining her and Stevens as Regional champs were Portage Central junior Seneli Amaratunga, Dearborn junior Calyssa Post, Clarkston senior Lily Haviland and Okemos freshman Saisha Patil.
LP Division 2 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley
Top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 2. Dexter, 3. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central.
Farmington Hills Mercy has won the last three Division 2 championships and enters this weekend ranked No. 6 with two golfers back from last year’s Finals five. Cranbrook is seeking its first championship since claiming Division 3 in 2021, Dexter its first since spring 2007 and Forest Hills Central its first ever.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood: The Cranes moved to Division 2 in 2023 and placed second that season and fourth a year ago with only one senior in the lineup. They won their Regional at Farmington Hills Golf Club last weekend ahead of No. 9 Bloomfield Hills Marian and No. 10 Birmingham Seaholm with four golfers back from last season’s contender – sophomore Sixtine Charnelet, seniors Sydney Behnke and Alina Yuan and junior Brianna Giudici. All four finished among the top nine at the Regional, as did junior Josie Vanderhaute, with Charnelet tying for runner-up.
Dexter: Reigning individual champion Avery Manning leads a lineup the finished only five strokes back of Mercy in second at last year’s Final. The Dreadnaughts also return senior Millie Truesdell and sophomore Maddy Manning – and Avery Manning, Truesdell and Maddy Manning finished 1-2-3, respectively, at last week’s Regional at Forest Akers East. Manning has won four Regional titles and also was the Division 2 Final runner-up in 2023.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central: The Rangers didn’t make the field last season, but tied for fourth in 2023. They’re storming back coming off earning an eight-stroke Regional win at Island Hills in Centreville against a field that also included No. 4 Lowell and No. 8 St. Joseph. All five golfers finished among the top 22 at the Regional, and only one is a senior. Sophomore Alivia Offer tied for second and junior Caroline Vandervelde in fourth led the way.
Individuals: As noted above, Avery Manning is the reigning Finals champion. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern senior Chaille Payne (third) and Plainwell junior Ayla Jaeger (tied for ninth) also are back from last year’s top 10. Jaeger joined Manning as a Regional champion last week, and Payne was a runner-up after a tiebreaker with Muskegon Reeths-Puffer junior Sophia McCollum at Lincoln Golf Club in Muskegon. Also winning Regionals were Petoskey senior Riley Barr, Mercy junior Megan Guerrera and Marian senior Pippa Dawson.
LP Division 3 at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers West
Top-ranked: 1. Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 2. Grand Rapids Christian, 3. Goodrich.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central has won the last two Division 3 championships and been ranked No. 1 all but one week this season. The lone week, the Cougars were passed by Grand Rapids Christian, which has climbed after sending only an individual qualifier to the Finals last season and is seeking its first top-two finish at the season-ending event. Goodrich has one, as runner-up in 2015, and will seek is first championship coming off a fourth-place finish a year ago.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central: The Cougars won last season’s Final by 65 strokes and return four golfers from six who played a round or both at that tournament – including three who also were part of the winning five in 2023. Senior Kelsey Preston tied for eighth individually two years ago and placed third last season, while senior Sofia Piccione (tied for seventh), senior Margaret Deimel (tied for 12th) and senior Mary Irwin also are back. They all scored among the top 11 as GRCC finished 22 strokes ahead of Grand Rapids Christian at last week’s Regional at Pigeon Creek in West Olive. Deimel was second, Preston third and Piccione fourth to key that performance.
Grand Rapids Christian: This will be the Eagles’ first team appearance at the Finals since 2021, although senior Lillian O’Grady has represented well as an individual qualifier the last three seasons with three top-five finishes include the championship a year ago. She won the Regional at Pigeon Creek last week, with freshman Eleanor O’Grady tying for seventh and senior Jane Snyder tying for 17th.
Goodrich: The Martians graduated only one golfer from last year’s fourth-place team. Senior Madilyn Sheerin won last week’s Regional at Flint Elks in Grand Blanc Township after tying for 12th at last year’s Final, and all five Martians finished among the top 25 at the Regional with junior Brookelyn Webb fifth and sophomore Lahna Palshan tied for 10th. Webb also was part of last year’s lineup, as were two others in this weekend’s top five.
Individuals: Four golfers total are back from last season’s top 10 – the three mentioned above, plus Williamston junior Paige Radebach, who tied for fourth. O’Grady won last year’s title by nine strokes and will be tough to catch, but joining her and Sheerin among Regional champions last week were Detroit Country Day junior Halle Heineman, Freeland junior Alexis Heinz, Charlotte junior Peyton Howarth and Big Rapids senior Kate Posey.
LP Division 4 at Katke at Ferris State University
Top-ranked: 1. Lansing Catholic, 2. Montague, 3. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central.
Lansing Catholic is seeking its second Finals championship in three seasons after finishing fourth a year ago. Kalamazoo Christian is the reigning champion and currently ranked No. 5. Montague is hoping to jump up from sixth last season to add a championship to its back-to-back titles in 2020 and 2021, and Monroe St. Mary is seeking its first and tied for 11th a year ago.
Lansing Catholic: Senior Addi Rule was part of the championship lineup in 2023 and with senior Elisabeth Ruddell returns from last year’s fourth-place finisher. The Cougars posted the third-lowest score at a Division 4 Regional last week, carding a 381 at Calderone Golf Club in Grass Lake with all five golfers among the top 10 – sophomore Anna Robinson third, freshman Erin O’Connell fifth, Rule and Ruddell tied for sixth and junior Olivia Riley placing 10th.
Montague: The Wildcats graduated only one golfer from last year’s sixth-place finisher and have only one senior among this season’s top five. That senior, Cadence Fox, tied for eighth as Montague edged No. 6 Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian by a stroke at last week’s Regional at The Falls at Barber Creek in Kent City. Juniors Addi Smith (third at the Regional) and Brynlee Kessler (tied for fourth) also are returnees from last year’s run, along with sophomore Marguerite O’Connell.
Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central: Senior Nora Kinsey and junior Lauren Tolliver are the only returning golfers from last season’s starting Finals five, but they finished third and fourth, respectively, as SMCC won its Regional last week at Rustic Glen in Saline. They were the low scorers for the Kestrels at last year’s Final as well.
Individuals: Napoleon senior Anna McCubbins – placing seventh – was the only non-senior among last year’s top 12 (top 10 placers with ties). She’s back after finishing second at Calderone last week to Bath freshman Addilyn Duflo. Joining Duflo among Regional champions were Elk Rapids’ freshman Piper Smith, Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central junior Gabi Thiel, Fowler junior Noelle Krepps, Olivet senior Jocelyn Rolston and Clawson junior Joslynn Ramirez.
PHOTO Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Kelsey Preston follows one of her drives during last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)