In Just 5th Season, Montague Finishes #1
October 17, 2020
By Tom Lang
Special for Second Half
Montague pulled off an amazing feat Saturday at Forest Akers West by winning its first MHSAA Finals team championship in just the fifth year of the program’s existence.
The Wildcats scored 343 at the Lower Peninsula Division 4 tournament to set a new school record, besting Lansing Catholic at 370. All five Montague players finished among the top 16 individuals, with junior Orianna Bylsma leading with a top-five finish at 81, and senior Megan Brown coming in 8th with 84.
“My mind is racing,” said head coach Phil Kerr. “I’m just so happy for the girls. They earned this. We thought we could do this; we brought four players back from last year. We wanted to win a county championship, win the Regionals, and then just see what happened at states. It’s unbelievable.”
The team finished fourth at the Final last year in its first-ever two-round tournament. Kerr said in 2019 the Wildcats played much better on the second day, which elevated the team into the top five. So, there was some nervousness coming into the tournament this year knowing it would be reduced to one 18-hole round, not the traditional 36 holes over two days. The cutback was due to COVID-19 protocols for distancing and to allow teams to make one day trip instead of needing to stay overnight.
“It’s definitely different, and there’s more urgency for sure,” Kerr said about the reduction to 18 holes. “Getting off to a good start is huge. There’s no time to make up for it. We really focused on, how do we come out, where do we stand after the first three or four holes, and make sure we take care of that.”
Jump out they did.
The Wildcats were ahead by as many as 15-20 strokes very early in the day before sealing the win by the large margin over Lansing Catholic, Michigan Center (371) and 2019 champ Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian (372).
“On the front nine you never know, something can always happen,” Kerr said about building the original lead. “I think we got comfortable toward the back of the front nine and we relaxed a little bit, but we still shot an amazing score.
“I’m really happy for our seniors, Megan Brown and Katie Unger (tied for 12th). Megan’s been on varsity since she was a freshman. I think she shot 145 at the Regionals that first year, and just shot 84 today to help set our school record and (win) a state championship. Just a credit to hard work. Special kids who love grinding and working hard. I hope they see the rest of their lives if they put their heart and soul into something, they’ll see the results like this.”
Junior Kamryn Shannon of Michigan Center was medalist at 2-over 74, just ahead of Jacquelyn O’Neill of Harbor Springs at 75. Shannon had a troubling day at Regionals scoring an 87, but turned it around for the Final. She admitted the 87 rattled her a little heading into the season’s final event.
“I’ve been working on my driver a lot recently, and today I was hitting almost every fairway, and if not I was just off on the edge,” Shannon said after accepting her first-place medal. “My putting was pretty good today also.”
Shannon said she finished outside the top 30 last year as a sophomore with scores in the 90s.
“I got new clubs and immediately my average started dropping,” she said about getting properly fitted. “I’m super proud all of my hard work paid off in the long run.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Montague’s Orianna Bylsma sends an approach from the 16th fairway during Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final. (Middle) Michigan Center’s Kamryn Shannon holds up her first-place medal. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
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.)