Manistique Shines on Graduation Day
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 30, 2015
ISHPEMING — It was a day Manistique senior Hailey Hoholik will remember for a long time as she led the Emeralds to their first Upper Peninsula Division 2 golf title in five years on Friday.
The Manistique girls finished with 419 strokes, followed by two-time defending champion Iron Mountain at 460 and Hancock with 496 at Wawonowin Country Club.
Hoholik also was crowned U.P. individual champion with 99 strokes, just hours before her high school graduation.
“We’ve been practicing all phases of the game,” said Hoholik, who will attend Lake Superior State University this fall. “My short game isn’t bad, but it could use a little more work. My tee shots were good. I was getting a lot of distance. The weather conditions were also good. It rained a little in the beginning, otherwise it wasn’t bad. There wasn’t much wind.”
Westwood’s Lauren Farley was runner-up at 102. She was followed by Manistique junior Rachel Ryan (104) and Emeralds sophomore teammate Lauren Page (106).
We certainly had a balanced effort,” said Emeralds’ coach Deb Taylor. “The girls worked hard for this all year, especially this past week. I think this is big for our golf program and our school. Hopefully, this will help motivate the girls.”
Hoholik became the first individual champion for the Manistique girls program since 2002, when Janelle Kemppainen earned medalist honors. Hoholik placed fourth in Division 1 a year ago, hitting a 97 on the Marquette Golf & Country Club’s Heritage course.
On Friday, however, Hoholik shot 50 through the halfway point and followed that with a 49 through the final nine holes at Wawonowin.
“Hailey kept her driver in her bag, which probably helped,” Taylor said. “Hailey is my niece and I’m very proud of her. In fact, I’m proud of all the girls. Rachel and Lauren should be solid for us next year. I’m already looking forward to next season.”
All five Manistique golfers earned All-U.P. honors by placing among the top 10. Iron Mountain’s Kathyrn Brown placed fifth with 108 strokes and Hancock’s McKenna Monticello was sixth at 109.
Manistique senior Maggie Morrison and Iron Mountain’s Cassie Feira shared seventh at 110, followed by West Iron County’s Madeline Waara at 112 and Manistique sophomore Brooke Whiskin at 113.
PHOTOS: (Top) Manistique poses with its MHSAA championship trophy after winning Friday’s Upper Peninsula Division 2 Final. (Middle) Manistique’s Hailey Hoholik unloads a drive on the way to earning the medalist honor. (Photos by Keith Shelton).
Northville Nets 3rd-Straight Team Title, Griswold Rides Fast Start to Medalist Honor
By
Tom Lang
Special for MHSAA.com
October 17, 2026
BATTLE CREEK – For the Northville Mustangs, it seems like a case of rinse and repeat.
Northville won its third consecutive Lower Peninsula Division 1 girls golf championship this weekend at Bedford Valley. Three Mustangs tied for 11th place to lead the way – McKenzie Stevens, Naaz Gill and Cam Baker, all with two-day scores of 156.
This year’s team title was not the only repeat, however, as the same three golfers (plus a fourth who has since graduated) tied each other for eighth place in 2024 while leading Northville to the first of the three consecutive titles.
“We’re all usually within 2-to-3 stokes of each other,” said Gill, the lineup’s lone senior. “I think we all play the same game, and we like to help each other out. It’s funny, but it makes some sense.
“Our consistency and the stability that we have was what went right this weekend,” Gill added. “Even if we have one bad hole, we’re able to hold on and not blow up; just stay stable throughout. One bad hole doesn’t dictate our round.”
As for feeling extra pressure or instead using it as motivation to earn a third-straight title, Gill said: “It is a motivator, just to keep things going. And not just to win the title but for all of us to play our game that we like.”
Northville finished at 312-319-631 for an 18-shot margin over runner-up Macomb Dakota (330-319-649). Third was Portage Central (whose leader Olivia Griswold earned medalist) at 320-346-666 to place six strokes better than Okemos (337-335-672) in fourth. Rochester Adams (333-342-675) rounded out the top five.
Griswold blitzed the field in the opening round with a 5-under 67, making it very difficult to be caught. She added a 74 on day two for an overall 141 at 3-under par. Duo runners-up Saisha Patil of Okemos and Hannah Kim of Troy came in seven strokes back at 148 each. That pair were in fourth place to start the day.
“I wasn’t taking as many risks today (Saturday), just kind of staying patient, letting my game do what it does,” Griswold said shortly before being handed the medalist trophy. “I wasn’t worried about making mistakes. In the first round my putting was really good. I only had 29 putts. My wedges were also really tight, which helped me get so few putts. Overall, it was really solid. Didn’t make many mistakes.
“I’ve played here so many times. I was really, really happy that states was playing here (at Bedford Valley). We have lots of conference matches, and I’ve played some summer events here too.”
Regarding the team’s third-place showing, Griswold added: “We’ve been in sixth place the last couple of years, and that’s about where we were projected to be this year, so I’m so proud of everyone for staying in it and playing some of their best golf of the year, especially in the first round. We didn’t expect to be top three, so super proud of everyone.
“I’m happy with his win because starting with Regionals the last couple of years I haven’t done great, and haven’t been all that good at states,” Griswold said about a 21st-place finish last year and 19th in 2024. “So, I worked really, really hard this entire summer and changed a bunch of stuff with my swing. I had a lot of ups and downs this summer, but really felt at the peak of my game the last couple weeks. So, getting to perform well at Regionals and here at states was something I haven’t done well before, felt really good this time.”
Like any competitor, Kim wanted to seal a victory in her first Final as a freshman but knew Griswold’s huge first-round lead was insurmountable in most cases.
“My putting was a big improvement from yesterday,” Kim said. “It was the biggest factor that led me to score this good today (even-par 72). “Even if I had shot really good, it was going to be hard to catch her. I got a hole-in-one this year … so I’m happy. It’s not easy to play well here.”
(Photos by High School Sports Scene.)