Glen Lake's Champ Sets Sights Higher
September 9, 2015
By Dennis Chase
Special for Second Half
TRAVERSE CITY – The ball landed on the green a few feet past and left of the hole.
One hundred and eleven yards away, at the tee box on the 11th hole at the Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids, Glen Lake's Nichole Cox squinted through the bright sunshine on this late August day to see where she would putt for birdie.
Turns out, there would be no birdie putt. The backspin Cox put on the ball with her pitching wedge, coupled with the slope of the green, drew the ball right to the cup. Just like that, the defending Lower Peninsula Division 4 champion had her first career hole-in-one en route to a personal-best 3-under 69 in winning the Cardinal Invitational.
That shot typifies Cox's torrid pre-Labor Day start to the 2015 season. Four matches, four impressive victories, including the two-day, 36-hole Lober Classic at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa. Cox shot rounds of 71 and 76 on the Spruce Run and Wolverine courses to take the title by two strokes over Brighton's Annie Pietila, who had led by three shots after opening with a 68.
"It was crazy," Cox said. "I was proud of myself. That was my goal (to win the tournament)."
Glen Lake was the smallest school in the 26-team field.
"I think that might be the best competition we'll see until the state tournament," Lakers coach Paul Christiansen said.
The 17-year-old Cox also won two matches at Mistwood. She fired an even-par 71 to claim the Traverse City West Titan Invitational by nine strokes and then came back a few days later with a 1-under 70 to capture a triangular match by 13 strokes.
Of her five 18-hole rounds, she's played four at par or under par.
"She's pretty motivated," Christiansen said. "She is her own toughest critic. She has high expectations. She'll say her goal is to win every match this year."
To do that, Cox said she's had to sharpen her focus. She said she no longer worries about her score during a match. Instead, she is more intent on the "simple things," like making sure she hits the fairways and greens. The rest, she said, will take care of itself.
"I've been making a lot more up and downs," the junior said. "I feel good about it right now."
Always known as a long ball hitter off the tee, Cox has steadily improved as a putter.
"I can basically two-putt from anywhere (on the green)," she said. "I don't three-putt much. That's a big step from last year."
She's also had her share of one-putts, knocking down a number of long birdie attempts.
Her putting has been aided by a stronger approach game, thanks to a new set of Callaway Apex irons she put in her bag before the season.
"(The switch) was mostly to control her iron play, trajectory and distance," Scott Wilson, her swing coach in the Junior Elite program at Crystal Mountain, said. "She dialed in almost immediately. Certainly that's a concern when you make an equipment change like that (before the season), but it was the right fit for her. I wish we would have done it sooner."
Cox, who was third in LP Division 4 as a freshman, enjoyed a solid summer on the links, competing in the Michigan Women's Open and Michigan Amateur, where she reached the Sweet 16.
"Every year she just gets better," her father, Duane, said. "She's playing with more confidence. It's not just one thing that's getting better, everything is getting better. Her numbers this year are so much better – and they were good last year."
Christiansen said it's fun to watch her play.
"Really good players have their own swing coaches, and I don't want to mess that up," he said. "I think you can have too many voices. My job is to keep her relaxed, keep her in the moment, keep her level-headed so she's not too hard on herself. You have to be able to let a bad shot go."
Christiansen maneuvers around the course to watch all of his golfers during a match, so he's not with Cox constantly.
"That's one cool thing about golf, unlike some other sports where the coach is with you 100 percent of the time," he said. "You've got to adjust to situations yourself and learn course management. She's played so much golf, she's really good at figuring out what she's doing right and wrong."
Cox has been around the game for years. When she and her twin brother Brandon were in kindergarten, their parents bought a home with a driving range. The family has operated the Dune Valley Driving Range the last 10 years. It's across the road from the Dunes Golf Club, which the family plays regularly.
"I thought it would be a great place for kids to grow up," Duane said.
Cox edged Farwell's Bria Colosky by one stroke to win last season’s MHSAA Final with a 36-hole score of 159. They and two others entered the second round tied for first at 83, but Cox shot a 76, to Colosky’s 77, to finish the competition.
"I thought I lost it because I double-bogeyed my last hole," Cox said. "I was pretty convinced I blew it for myself. I was surprised that I won."
Cox would like to take that surprise element out of the equation this year.
"The goal is to get better every match so that next month she's ready to roll (in the MHSAA tournament)," Christiansen said.
Dennis Chase worked 32 years as a sportswriter at the Traverse City Record-Eagle, including as sports editor from 2000-14. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Maple City Glen Lake's Nichole Cox watches a shot during last season's Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final. (Middle) Cox unloads a tee shot during another 2014 event. (Middle photo courtesy of Glen Lake High School.)
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.)