Cedarville's Trojans Make Another Championship Memory
By
Todd Rose
Special for Second Half
June 4, 2021
GLADSTONE – The Cedarville Trojans went out with a bang for their school and the 2021 season Thursday afternoon in Gladstone, taking the overall team championship and placing first and second individually at the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 3 Finals at the Oaks Caddyshack Club in Gladstone.
The Trojans, beginning this fall, will merge athletic programs with nearby DeTour and become the Islanders.
Cedarville carded a 403 to finish ahead of Engadine at 475 and Cooks Big Bay de Noc at 484.
Trojans teammates Zoe Autore (92) and Lauren Miller (97) finished first and second, respectively, in the individual standings.
“I knew we had a good shot with our girls team because all five of our girls are pretty solid players,” Cedarville coach Rob Freel said. “I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but I knew we would have a good shot at it, and I think they all played really well today.”
Cedarville's girls golf program won three Finals championships and finished runner-up three times, including in 2019.
For both Autore and Miller, it was their best outing ever.
“It’s pretty decent because that’s never happened before,” said Autore. “I did a lot of firsts today, so that was good. (The 92) was my best. Even on nine, I’ve never shot that low before.”
“My last nine could have been a little better, but it’s better than I’ve ever shot before,” Miller added.
Freel said both Autore and Miller stepped up to the occasion for the U.P. Finals.
“Zoe puts in a lot of extra work. She takes some private lessons ... and she’s always putting in extra time on the course,” Freel said. “Lauren plays a lot, too. They’re pretty solid players.”
Carney-Nadeau's Heidi Kirschner finished third individually with a score of 99.
“This is the best round of golf I’ve had in my entire life,” Kirschner said.
When the tournament began, Kirschner said she did not think third place was even a possibility.
“I haven’t been driving well the whole season, and today my drives were just on point and so were my irons, so it just kind of worked out,” she said.
Sarah Snyder of Powers North Central shot 100 and Cedarville’s Hayley Kohlmann 106 to round out the top five.
Also making the top 10 were Taylor Williams (Cedarville) and Madyson Permit (Ontonagon), tied for sixth at 108; Grace VanWormer (Cooks Big Bay de Noc) in eighth at 110, Emmy Bobula (Ontonagon) in ninth at 112 and Rayven Jacobsen (Crystal Falls Forest Park) 10th at 113.
PHOTOS: (Top) Cedarville’s Zoe Autore tees off on No. 4 during Thursday’s Upper Peninsula Division 3 Final. (Middle) Teammate Lauren Miller sends an approach on the way to her individual runner-up finish. (Photos by Todd Rose.)
Returning with Full Lineup, Bark River-Harris Capitalizes Fully with Finals Sweep
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
May 27, 2026
HOUGHTON — When Bark River-Harris has enough golfers for a team, they’ve become pretty tough to beat in the Upper Peninsula.
The Broncos won a U.P. Finals title two years ago but didn’t have enough golfers for a team score at last year’s championship tournament. This year, they did – and they made it two Division 2 championship trophies earned in three years.
They won convincingly; their score of 416 was 12 strokes better than runner-up Cedarville on Wednesday at Portage Lake Golf Course. Hancock was third, Ironwood fourth, and last year’s champion, Newberry, fifth.
“We had high expectations this year. We had a good team last year,” Bark River-Harris coach Matt Sly said. “The three players that played this year — that was part of our core team — last year we didn’t have enough players. They came back this year, we were able to recruit our fourth player and she was a vital part of our team.
“So we knew we had a pretty good chance, and it does feel really great to win.”
Bark River-Harris sophomore Makayla Hyslop won the individual U.P. Division 2 title, carding a 91, which was three strokes better than Hancock’s Kaelyn Rouleau. Ironwood’s Cristina Braucher took third with a 96. Last year’s U.P. medalist, Cedarville/DeTour’s Makenna Smith, finished in fourth with a 97, and Newberry’s Blair Maki was fifth, shooting a 98.
“I think I really focused on hitting solid, straight drives because it’s a little narrow out there,” Hyslop said. “And I remember I was just trying to get the most distance I could out of all of my shots and to play smart and to stay out of trouble.
“All of the work I’ve put in the last two years kind of feels like I’m being rewarded for the long hours and practice rounds and all of the stuff I did got me to where I am, so it feels nice,” Hyslop added.
Her goal was to place in the top three herself, but to win as a team.
“I really didn’t expect to do as well as I did,” she said. “But I am very glad that it went the way that it did. My first few holes started off really strong. I parred my first, so that gave me a good confidence boost. And probably around six holes in, I realized I was doing pretty well. When it came down to the last few holes, I realized I really could win if I just stayed focused and control what I can.”
The team title was a big deal as well.
The three golfers who were on last year’s team at the Finals all placed among the top 10 Wednesday. In addition to Hyslop, sophomore Alana Nault was sixth with a 99 and senior Dakota Bridges ninth with a 103.
Senior Julia Nault tied for 25th from that integral fourth spot to round out the lineup.
“It was really special to win because we’re losing two seniors, so to win it with them feels really special, especially because we could have won it last year with one of our seniors (Dakota Bridges) if we had another girl,” Hyslop said. “So to be able to get a title as a sophomore and experience it with one of my favorite seniors was really special.”
PHOTOS (Top) The Bark River-Harris girls golf team poses for a photo Wednesday with its latest championship trophy. (Middle) Cedarville/DeTour's McKenna Smith follows an approach shot. (Top photo courtesy of Painesdale Jeffers’ athletic department. Action photo by Jason Juno.)