Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, Napoleon's McCubbins clinch 1st Finals Titles
By
Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com
October 18, 2025
BIG RAPIDS – The first time was a charm for Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian girls golf coach Myrna Duflo and her freshman daughter, Izzy, at the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final this weekend at Katke Golf Course.
For Napoleon senior Anna McCubbins, persistence paid off in a major way.
In her first season as NorthPointe Christian’s head coach, Myrna Duflo guided the Mustangs to their first-ever Finals title. Izzy Duflo has been their No. 1 golfer all season and she was again this weekend, placing fourth individually with a two-day total of 166 (78-88).
Meanwhile, McCubbins cruised to her first championship in her fourth Finals appearance by firing a 155 (79-76) in clearing the rest of the field by five strokes.
“It’s awesome. It’s very surreal. I’m still in a little bit of shock about it,” Myrna Duflo said. “It’s my first year coaching it and I have a great group of girls, and they’re the ones that got the job done, not me. They did the hard work – I just encouraged them throughout the day.”
NorthPointe Christian shot 374 on Friday and 371 in soggy, challenging conditions Saturday. The second round was originally scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, but it was bumped to 9 a.m. in hopes of dodging some of the inclement weather before heavy rains forced a postponement to an 11 a.m. start after all.
NorthPointe Christian edged Lansing Catholic by one shot, as the Cougars came oh, so close to their second Finals crown in three years. NorthPointe Christian was runner-up last season, and Lansing Catholic also finished second in 2020 and 2021.
When the dust settled Saturday – or, more appropriately, as the wet course began to dry out a bit – Elk Rapids placed third (753), followed by Montague in fourth (755) and Napoleon fifth (778).
“It feels really good,” Izzy Duflo said as she cradled the championship trophy. “Being a freshman, knowing my team did well throughout the season, I’m happy.”
The word “happy” is not strong enough to describe the emotions McCubbins felt after she sealed the medalist honor. She birdied two of her first four holes Saturday and had three of them in her 4-over-par round.
McCubbins tied for 11th at the Final as a freshman, then placed seventh in both her sophomore and junior seasons.
“Seriously, I’ve dreamed about this moment at least four times,” said McCubbins, who will play next for Saginaw Valley State University. “It’s just such a crazy, surreal experience. Just happy tears, honestly.”
Rounding out the top 10 individual finishers were Bath’s Addilyn Duflo in second (160), Byron’s Adalen Brown third (165), Elk Rapids’ Piper Smith and NorthPointe Christian’s Izzy Duflo tied for fourth (166), Lansing Catholic’s Addi Rule sixth (173), Fowler’s Noelle Krepps seventh (177), NorthPointe Christian’s Natalie Kent eighth (179), Montague’s Cadence Fox ninth (180), and Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central’s Nora Kinsey 10th (182).
A Montague golfer’s bag of clubs went missing Saturday morning. On the driving range during warmups, McCubbins loaned her driver to the Montague golfer.
On top of the goodwill gesture, McCubbins said she felt a sense of fulfillment in capturing the individual title. Her life the past four years has been committed to golf and getting better, she said.
“Golf, it’s such a mental game. Just have a good, mental state the entire day. Stay calm, you know, don’t get super upset. Play with emotion without being emotional, and I feel like I really pulled that off today,” she said. “Especially with the weather being as bad as it was, I’ve had experience playing in bad weather, I know what that’s like, and I think that’s what gave me an advantage.”
NorthPointe’s Aila Ellis (196) and Clara Velting (204) rounded out their team’s top four scorers, while Kezia Beeke shot 221 for the Mustangs.
Beeke, who was one of two seniors on the NorthPointe squad, said that sticking with it and staying together were among the keys for her team.
“We were really encouraged. Coach did a lot of encouragement over the season and over today and yesterday, and I just think that encouragement and just knowing our team is so bonded and we’re so impacted by each other that we really just pushed through and we were able to win,” Beeke said.
“It’s proven that if you know your team well and you were loved and were cared for by your team and you know that, you significantly would do better. That’s what I think makes our team such a good team is because we can love each other well and support each other no matter what happens on the course.”
Izzy Duflo added team bonding and motivating each other also carried the Mustangs, who finished runner-up to Montague in the Regional by one shot.
Myrna Duflo quipped, maybe NorthPointe will win the Regional next year. For now, the Finals championship will suit the Mustangs just fine.
“Next year’s a new year and hopefully we’ll be standing here again,” coach Duflo said. “At the end of the day, this is what we trained for all season, and we’ve worked really hard.”
PHOTOS (Top) NorthPointe Christian's Izzy Duflo tees off during the opening round of the Division 4 Final on Friday. (Middle) Napoleon's Anna McCubbins follows an approach shot Saturday. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene. McCubbins photo submitted by the Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association.)
Ontonagon Tradition Continues as Super Sophomore Leads Latest Title Triumph
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
May 28, 2025
ESCANABA — When Jim Jessup goes into the Ontonagon school, middle schoolers ask him if he’ll still be coaching when they are old enough to join the high school golf team.
“The history of the community is the girls play golf, and they do really well,” Jessup said. “And they know that, so they want to be part of the team.”
The Gladiators continued their tradition of excellence Wednesday at Escanaba Country Club as they won their second consecutive Upper Peninsula Division 3 title and 24th Finals championship overall.
“I was expecting good things from this group,” Jessup said. “We did well last year, and we did well this year.”
More like dominated.
The Gladiators carded a 406 to finish 60 shots ahead of runner-up Big Bay de Noc. The top three individual golfers were all from Ontonagon — medalist Summer Stites, who shot a 98; Madyson Pantti (99) and Samantha Bailey (100).
“The girls worked hard the last few months,” Jessup said. “We didn’t have a whole lot of outdoor time until tournament time, which was kind of a challenge. But they stepped up to where I thought they should be.”
The springtime weather in the lake-effect snowbelts of the Upper Peninsula can certainly make golfing a challenge. So can not being able to use your driver effectively, but it didn’t stop Stites from climbing the leaderboard Wednesday.
“I couldn’t hit my driver, so I stopped hitting it,” she said. “And I just switched to my 7-wood, and that worked pretty well. Then my chipping was pretty good.”
Jessup said she did what he teaches his golfers to do in such a situation.
“We’ve talked about it before — if you can’t hit the driver, if it’s not working, go to something else,” he said. “I’ve even told them, ‘If you have to hit irons, just hit irons.’ You can still get home in regulation if you just hit good, straight irons. It’s better to be straight than crooked any day.”
Stites is only a sophomore. She finished in a tie for fourth as a freshman last year and will be a part of continuing the tradition going forward.
The Gladiators do lose two of their top three finishers from Wednesday, but they’re also developing more golfers through the local junior program.
“It’s going to be more of a struggle next year, but I'm determined that we’re going to try to defend,” Jessup said.
Big Bay de Noc’s Payton Pederson finished in fourth place with a 105. North Dickinson’s Aunika Lindholm won a one-hole playoff for the last spot in the top five. She carded a 109.
PHOTOS (Top) Ontonagon's Summer Stites watches a drive during Wednesday’s U.P. Division 3 Final. (Middle) Engadine's Sheyenne Nelson tees off during her championship round. (Photos by Jason Juno.)