Gremlins Push Title Streak to 4
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 28, 2014
MARQUETTE — The Houghton girls capped a short, but successful golf season Wednesday as they captured their fourth consecutive MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1 title with 396 strokes.
Runner-up Marquette finished with 423, with third-place Escanaba at 433.
“Three of our girls didn’t play until May 13 when we went to the Negaunee Range Bank Invitational at Wawanowin (Golf Club near Ishpeming),” said Gremlins’ coach Corey Markham. “Some of our new girls did real well. We have a couple real talented golfers, and our seniors (Noelle Polakowski and Megan Kelly) have been real consistent. Noelle and Megan have been part of four U.P. championships. This has been a real hard-working group.”
Gladstone senior Callie Jensen earned medalist honors with a 90 on the Marquette Golf & Country Club’s Heritage course. She was followed by Marquette’s Sydney Higgins with 94 and Kelly at 95.
“I went into a hazard and got a nine on it (on the par-5, No. 4 hole),” said Jensen, who will study at the University of Michigan this fall. “I had a little lane, but I hit a tree and ended up back in the hazard. I think if I could have gotten that down to a six, I would have been pleased with it.
“Overall, I played decent. This is a very challenging course. The greens were faster than we’re used to, although I like fast greens. So I can’t complain about that.”
Like most U.P. teams, Gladstone also started later than usual. The Braves opened their season May 1 at the Escanaba Country Club.
“We had a lot of tournaments cancelled due to bad weather,” said Jensen. “The late start made it harder to get into the swing of things.”
After the tournament, Braves’ coach Dane Quigley paid tribute to Jensen’s farewell performance and career.
“I thought Callie played well,” he said. “Yes, she took a nine on one hole. But that’s a quality golfer and young lady we’re losing. Callie is very dedicated to our program. She’s going to be missed, as (will) all of our other seniors.”
Manistique junior Hailey Hoholik placed fourth at 97, a stroke better than Escanaba senior Kelsey Motto.
“I thought everything went pretty good, although I should have done better on a few holes,” said Hoholik, who played on the Heritage course for the first time. “My putting didn’t go as well as I hoped. The greens were fast. Ours at home (at Indian Lake Golf Course) are pretty slow. This was a big adjustment at first. But by the third hole, I started getting used to it.”
Like Jensen, Motto received her due from Escanaba coach Brian Robinette.
“Kelsey has been an ambassador for our golf team,” said Robinette. “We spent four years together. Our girls’ program was barely breathing when I started. Kelsey knows what it takes to nurture the younger kids and play the game the right way. She has been a top-five golfer from the beginning of the year to the end. I think she’s going into college golf with a lot of momentum and self-belief.”
Motto, who will continue her golf career at St. Norbert College in DePere, Wis., next season, was followed by Houghton’s Adison Cook with a 99 and Polakowski with a 100.
The Gremlins also had a fourth golfer in the top 10, with Taryn Kaurala taking ninth overall at 102.
“Some of our girls came up through the junior program at Michigan Tech, which is a great program,” Markham said. “They’re all very competitive. They’ve been able to shake it off when they had a bad hole.”
Polakowski shared seventh with Marquette’s Hannah Crampton.
“Sydney’s second-place finish helped us get where we needed,” Marquette coach Ben Smith said. “Hannah had a solid round and Leah Anderson has been in the mix all year. Houghton is solid. It seems like Megan Kelly has been with them forever. I’m thrilled for our girls. Their scores got better through the season.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Houghton's Megan Kelly hits from the first fairway during the MHSAA Division 1 U.P. Final on Wednesday. (Middle) Gladstone's Callie Jensen hits out of a bunker on the first fairway; she went on to finish first individually with a 90. (Photos by Adelle Whitefoot.)
After Enjoying Pro Golf Stardom, Flynn Relishing Roles as Instructor, Sports Mom
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
July 31, 2025
GRAND RAPIDS – Kristina (Langton) Flynn recently arrived at a flag football tournament in Canton, Ohio, before the Hall of Fame game and was busy monitoring a group of her son’s teammates as they enjoyed themselves in a hotel pool.
It’s been a busy sports life for the past Grand Rapids Catholic Central golf standout and MHSAA Finals individual champion, but she wouldn’t want it any other way as she is currently relishing her role as a sports parent to her two young children, Knox (8) and Palmer (6).
“Being a sports mom is truly what I was meant to be,” Flynn said. “It’s amazing watching them work hard and work to improve in their sports. I’ll always be the loudest and biggest supporter of theirs.”
As a high school senior, Flynn won the medalist honor at the 2007 Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final at Eastern Michigan University’s Eagle Crest Golf Club.
She shot rounds of 79 and 74 for a 153 total and two-shot victory while helping lead her team to a sixth-place finish.
Flynn’s mother, Tammy Langton, was Catholic Central’s coach.
“As I get older, it’s been one of my most favorite memories in my golfing career to look back on,” Flynn said. “To have had my mom as my coach and to be there putting the medal around my neck – that’s a memory I will never forget. And as I get older and have kids of my own now, it’s even more special to have had that memory with her. It was just as much hers as it was mine.”
Flynn’s victory capped the last girls golf season played in the spring before the sport was switched to fall.
Now 36, she made giant strides during her high school career and improved immensely before capping it off with a state championship.
She was an individual qualifier as a sophomore before placing seventh as a junior.
“The progress from freshman to senior year just shows what can happen when you keep working hard and trust the process,” Flynn said.
After high school graduation, Flynn played at Grand Valley State and earned Freshman of the Year and first-team all-league honors in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Association her first season. As a college sophomore, she was selected as a first-team All-American.
Her success at the collegiate level and life-long ambition prompted her to make a major decision.
With the support of her parents, she turned professional in the summer of 2009.
“I had a great experience in college that gave me an avenue to practice and prepare for where I wanted to be while being surrounded by a lot of amazing people,” Flynn said. “Going into college, my goal always was to play professionally. Everything I did was to prepare to be able to play on tour.”
Flynn went to LPGA Qualifying School and earned full-time status.
“After that, I decided not to go back to school,” Flynn said. “I never had a plan B for my career or in my mind – it was always to play professionally.”
Flynn earned status on the Futures Tour, which at the time was an LPGA developmental circuit, and played for two seasons.
“No regrets on the experience because golf has literally given me everything in my life,” Flynn said. “I’m super grateful to have had the opportunity to make my dream a reality.
“Mini-tour golf is a grind, and looking back, I would have done things differently for sure. I was so young and had a lot to learn.”
After Flynn stopped playing professionally, she received Class A PGA certification and started working as a club professional. She still competed for several years in tournaments, including at Michigan PGA and Mid-Atlantic PGA events.
Flynn has been the lead instructor at Kent Country Club the past nine years.
“I love being able to give back to the game that has given me so much,” Flynn said. “To be able to make a positive impact in my student’s game and life.”
Flynn, and her husband, Dan, married in 2016. He was a PGA head professional at Midland Country Club and she was at Cascade Hills Country Club when they met.
They started a family and have been engulfed in youth sports with Knox playing golf, flag football, baseball and basketball and Palmer participating in soccer, basketball and golf.
Knox has competed in the Drive, Putt and Chip junior skills competition.
“They both love to play golf,” Kristina Flynn said, “and it’s been amazing to be able to see it bring them as much joy as it has Dan and I.”
2025 Made In Michigan
July 29: Marckel Supplies Marketing Magic to Hunter's Heisman-Winning Campaign - Report
July 28: Union City to Omaha: Skirka Takes Murray State Baseball to 1st College World Series - Report
July 22: TC West's Wheelock Still 'Living My Dreams' as CMU Assistant Soccer Coach - Report
July 17: Stevenson's Travels Following Lake Orion Success Include Space Force, Penn, NYC - Report
July 15: 'Who Will Cheer for the Nimrods?' Peterson IV, Watersmeet Found Fans Worldwide - Report
July 10: Feeding 'Drive to Win,' Loy Norrix Grad Morgan Impresses with Strong USBC Showing - Report
July 9: After Blazing Multiple Volleyball Trails, Bastianelli Charting Next Career Path - Report
PHOTOS (Top) At left, Kristina Langton tees off during the 2007 Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final. At right, Langton takes a photo with husband Dan and children Knox and Palmer. (Middle) Kristina Langton takes a photo with her mother and high school coach, Tammy Langton, after receiving her medal for winning the 2007 LPD3 individual title. (High school photos from MHSAA archives. Current photo courtesy of the Flynn family.)