Preview: Finals Filled with Opportunity
October 19, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Five of 12 teams occupying top-three spots in this week’s Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association state polls have never won an MHSAA championship.
That fact alone sets this up to be a weekend of change. But there are other factors to consider heading into the Lower Peninsula Girls Golf Finals.
We’re guaranteed at least one new champion, with reigning Division 4 winner Macomb Lutheran North moving into Division 3 this fall. We’ve also had the same Division 3 winner for three straight seasons – Spring Lake – and a number of contenders will join Lutheran North in trying to put an end to that streak.
Divisions 1 and 2 feature four of the five teams noted above that have never won at this highest level. But in Division 2 at least, a returning champ is expected to reign again – Midland Dow is back as the favorite after claiming its first title just a year ago.
See below for golfers to watch at all four MHSAA Finals this weekend, and come back Saturday evening for coverage of all four championship tournaments on Second Half. Click for a list of all Finals qualifiers and Regional scores from last week.
LP Division 1 at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University
Top-ranked: 1. Saline, 2. Brighton, 3. Northville.
Arguably the best golf in the state this fall has been played in the pocket of Livingston, Oakland and Washtenaw counties home to these contenders. Now, history could follow. Saline’s last championship came in 2010, while Brighton and Northville are seeking a first MHSAA title. Saline did finish fifth a year ago, when Brighton tied for seventh at Forest Akers East, and those two have been the top-ranked teams in Division 1 for the last month.
Saline: The Hornets were third after the first round of last year’s Final and have carried that strong play through this fall. They won their Regional last week at Lake Forest in Ann Arbor by 15 strokes ahead of Northville and third-place, No. 4-ranked Plymouth. Saline’s lineup of five seniors included four who finished among the top 13, led by medalist Catherine Loftus (76), fifth-place Molly Pribble and sixth-place Sydney Page. Those three and 13th-place Stephanie Schick were the top four during last season’s Finals weekend as well.
Brighton: The Bulldogs cleared the Regional field at Oak Pointe in Brighton by 30 strokes, shooting a 309. All five players finished among the top 17 individuals, with junior Annie Pietila first at 72, senior Heather Fortushniak second at 76, junior Autumn Blaney fourth and freshman Maggie Pietila tied for fifth. Fortushniak, Pietila, Blaney and Sophie Lowe all were part of last season’s lineup as well.
Northville: As mentioned above, Northville finished second at Lake Forest last week and with two freshmen scoring after the team missed last season’s Final by only two strokes. All five Mustangs finished among the top 28 individuals this time, and only the fifth scorer is a senior. Junior Mariella Simoncini led the way in third place and freshman Nicole Whatley came in fourth against another strong field.
Other individuals of note: Traverse City West junior Anika Dy is the reigning individual champion and also finished runner-up as a freshman, and she leads a team that also could push back into contention after winning the title in 2015. Bloomfield Hills junior Mikaela Schulz was third individually last season, only two stroke back, while Novi senior Abby Livingston is back as an individual qualifier after tying for ninth in 2016. In addition to some of the other likely contenders mentioned above, a pair of freshmen broke 80 at Regionals and could be ones to watch. Utica Eisenhower’s Ariel Chang shot a 73 to win at Twin Lakes in Oakland Township, and Dy’s sister Anci followed Anika shooting a 76 to finish second at their Regional at Sunnybrook in Grandville. Schulz and Farmington Hills Mercy junior Sophie VanderWeele also were Regional medalists last week.
LP Division 2 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley
Top-ranked: 1. Midland Dow, 2. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, 3. St. Joseph.
Midland Dow won last season’s Division 2 Final by 48 strokes – to claim the Chargers’ first MHSAA championship in this sport – and they’ve been ranked No. 1 in every poll this fall. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer steadily has climbed over the course of the season and is seeking its first championship, as is St. Joseph – they finished eighth and fourth, respectively, in 2016.
Midland Dow: Only two of last season’s five golfers are back this fall, but they have plenty of help. Senior Alexis Carras was the Finals runner-up to her older sister Stephanie last fall and finished seventh at Dow’s Regional last week at Midland’s Currie West, and senior Giacomina Fabiano also is back after shooting the team’s third-lowest score during the 2016 title run. Junior teammate Rose Hami came in sixth at this year’s Regional, senior Tatum Matthews also tied for seventh and junior Meghan Killmaster tied for 14th as all five Chargers finished among the top 23.
Muskegon Reeths-Puffer: The Rockets have blasted into the title conversation over the last month and shot the division’s lowest Regional score, 328, in winning last week at Lincoln Golf Club in Muskegon. Reeths-Puffer edged No. 5 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern by four strokes with four players finishing among the top seven – junior Karina VanDuinen was runner-up with a 79, with senior Karlee Hallberg third, junior Avery Howard tied for fourth and sophomore Abby Fansler tied for seventh. VanDuinen was the Finals champion in 2015 as an individual qualifier. Howard was eighth individually at last year’s Final as she, VanDuinen, Hallberg and junior Emma Veihl all were part of the lineup.
St. Joseph: The Bears also were Regional champions, by 15 strokes at Stonehedge North in Augusta, with all five players finishing among the top 19 individuals. Regional medalist Cailey Rooker (76) placed fourth at last season’s Final, while seniors Maddie Wright and Katie Schmidt also were part of the lineup in 2016. Wright was seventh at this year’s Regional.
Other individuals of note: Port Huron senior Megan Randolph and Grosse Pointe North junior Meghan Gallagher tied for sixth at last season’s Final, and Birmingham Seaholm junior Hailey Roovers was ninth. Gallagher and Roovers both won Regional championships last week, as did DeWitt senior Elaina DeRose, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern freshman Lilia Henkel and Alpena senior Courtney Nunneley. South Lyon senior Elizabeth Harding was 10th at the 2015 Final and missed the top 10 last season by a stroke in leading her team to a third-place finish. Bloomfield Hills Marian freshman Shannon Kennedy shot a 78 to finish second to Roovers at their Regional last week at Huron Meadows in Brighton.
LP Division 3 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West
Top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 2. Macomb Lutheran North, 3. Detroit Country Day.
Spring Lake has won the last three LPD3 championships but enters this weekend ranked only No. 8. Cranbrook Kingswood and Country Day were fifth and fourth, respectively, at last year’s Final, and this division got even stronger with reigning LPD4 champion Lutheran North joining the group this fall coming off a 36-stroke title win. Cranbrook Kingswood beat Lutheran North by a stroke in a September match.
Cranbrook Kingswood: The Cranes will bring back the entire lineup this weekend that finished only five strokes out of third place a year ago, including seniors Kate Cao and Carmen Chan, who placed sixth and tied for 10th individually in 2016. They tied for third and finished second, respectively, as the team won its Regional last week at West Shore in Grosse Ile. In addition, junior Katheryn Cohen tied for fifth as all five Cranbrook golfers placed among the top 14.
Lutheran North: The team’s top three Regional shooters – seniors Serena Nguyen and Grace Farquhar and junior Kaity Rittner – all were part of last season’s LPD4 championship lineup, Nguyen finishing fourth and Rittner tying for eighth individually. They’ll return to Forest Akers West, which hosted LPD4 a year ago, and after winning the Regional at Heather Hills in Romeo by four strokes ahead of No. 4 Flint Powers Catholic. Nguyen was the Regional medalist shooting a 70, and Rittner was third.
Country Day: The Yellowjackets were six strokes back of Cranbrook at West Shore with three players among the top nine and four among the top 12. Senior Lucy Liu tied for third at the Regional and junior Kristina Roberts was fifth after both competed at last season’s Final, and Liu is the only senior among the team’s top five. Liu and Roberts also were part of the lineup that finished fourth at the 2015 Final.
Other individuals of note: This is the most loaded individual field this weekend. Including returning LPD4 champion Nguyen and placer Rittner, this Final will feature eight players who were top-10 finishers in 2016. In addition to the Lutheran North pair and Cranbrook’s Cao and Chan, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep junior Danielle Staskowski won the LPD3 individual championship last season after a one-hole playoff. Grand Rapids South Christian junior Natalie Samdal was third, while Spring Lake senior Madelyn Nelson tied for eighth and junior teammate Hannah Klein tied for 10th. Klein and Nelson were first and second at their Regional last week at Katke in Big Rapids, while Samdal, Staskowski (ahead of Chan, Cao and Liu), Marshall sophomore Karlee Malone and Three Rivers senior Erin Taylor also won Regional titles.
LP Division 4 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers East
Top-ranked: 1. Kalamazoo Hackett, 2. Jackson Lumen Christi, 3. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian.
With Lutheran North moving into Division 3, there’s sure to be a new champion – and 2014-15 back-to-back winner Hackett enters as the favorite. Last season’s runner-up Livonia Ladywood also didn’t qualify as a full team, so Hackett is the highest returning placer as well after coming in third in 2016. Lumen Christi came in sixth and NorthPointe Christian was 10th; the Titans are playing for their first girls golf title since 2004, and NorthPointe is seeking its first championship in the sport having fallen two strokes shy in 2013.
Kalamazoo Hackett: Although the Irish graduated last season’s individual co-runner-up, they return the other four golfers who played on that third-place team. Hackett won its Regional at Milham Park in Kalamazoo by 14 strokes ahead of NorthPointe Christian and 17 ahead of No. 4-ranked North Muskegon, with those four returning golfers all placing among the top nine. Junior Emily Stull led the way in second, while junior Jessie Wenzel was fourth and lone senior Molly Clark tied for fifth.
Lumen Christi: Similar to Hackett, five of six players from last season’s Finals lineup (including both who split the fifth spot) are back for this weekend. Senior Geraldine Berkemeier missed the individual top 10 last year by two strokes, but she finished second to junior teammate Hillary Ziemba at last week’s Regional at The Medalist in Marshall. The Titans won by 23 strokes ahead of a field that also advanced No. 8 East Jackson and No. 10 Napoleon.
NorthPointe Christian: The Mustangs also bring back an experienced group, with four starters from last year’s Final in the lineup and joined by a standout freshman. Four NorthPointe golfers placed between fifth and ninth at the Regional at Milham Park, with junior Annelies Kraayeveld coming in fifth and freshman Sabrina Langerak next on the team in seventh.
Other individuals of note: This could be a wide-open race. With Macomb Lutheran North moving to LPD3, Livonia Ladywood senior Gabriella Scopone is the only returning top-10 finisher from last season after she tied for eighth. In addition to Lumen Christi’s Ziemba, Scopone also won a Regional last week as did Brooklyn Columbia Central junior Alissa Fish, North Muskegon junior Abby Grevel, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart senior Ayesha Mohan and Manistee senior Alice Fink-Jensen. Stull’s 82 to follow up Grevel’s 79 at Milham Park was among the five lowest Regional scores in all of LPD4, as was Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest junior Grace VanDellen’s 82 to finish second to Scopone’s 81 at Eagle Crest in Ypsilanti. Fish shot an 80 to win at Concord Hills.
PHOTO: Macomb Lutheran North's Serena Nguyen lines up a putt during last season's LPD4 Final; her team finished first and will try to win again this season in LPD3. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Preview: Golf Finals Celebrations Could Include Pair (or More) by 1st-Time Champions
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 15, 2026
Two new team champions are guaranteed during this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Girls Golf Finals – and if rankings are right, two teams will raise first-place trophies for the first time.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central in Division 2 and Bath in Division 4 entered the postseason with top spots in the weekly coaches polls, and both are pursuing their first Finals titles.
At the same time, Northville is the lead contender in Division 1 after winning the last two championships, and Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian also is playing to repeat – but in Division 3 after winning in Division 4 a year ago.
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:
Division 1 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley
Top-ranked: 1. Northville, 2. Macomb Dakota, 3. Okemos.
Northville is coming off its second-straight Division 1 championship and claimed last season’s by 29 strokes ahead of Dakota, which is expected to be the main challenger again as it seeks a first Finals championship in this sport. Okemos also is seeking a first Finals title after finishing third a year ago, only two strokes behind Dakota.
Northville: The Mustangs have been ranked No. 1 all but two weeks this season and return their top three from last year’s championship run – senior Naaz Gill, who finished fourth, and juniors Cam Baker and McKenzie Stevens, who tied for seventh. All three tied for eighth at the 2024 Final, as well. Baker finished second, Stevens third, Gill sixth and sophomore Katie Lis fifth as Northville won their Regional last week at nearby Salem Hills by 46 strokes.
Macomb Dakota: Last year’s runner-up finish was Dakota’s highest at a Final, and the Cougars will attempt to take the next step returning four from their 2025 lineup. Senior Marissa Monteith finished second last season and senior Angelina Accuso finished just outside the top 10, and they placed first and fifth, respectively, as Dakota won the Regional at Oakland Township’s Twin Lakes by 39 strokes. Junior Dakota Cooper and freshman Chloe Viars placed fourth and seventh, respectively, at the Regional, and sophomore Madison Mangeno also is returning from last year’s Finals five.
Okemos: The Wolves also will bring back five of six golfers who carded rounds during last season’s championship tournament, where sophomore Saisha Patil placed third and junior Anika Srivastava finished fifth. Okemos is seeking its best team finish since placing second in Division 2 in 2013, and won the Regional at Michigan State’s Forest Akers East by 12 strokes with Patil second, Srivastava third, junior Zoey McArdle tied for eighth and sophomore Ishika Shah tied for 13th. Senior Emma O’Shea tied for 16th and played both rounds at last season’s Final.
Individuals: Utica Eisenhower junior Emanuella Micakovic and White Lake Lakeland sophomore Abigail Ngo also are back after placing sixth and tied for seventh, respectively, in 2025, giving this field eight of its top 10 back but with a new champion guaranteed. Plymouth junior Lauren Abuel was the champion last week at Salem Hills after defeating Northville’s Baker in a playoff, and she was joined among Regional winners by Monteith, Portage Central senior Olivia Griswold, Dearborn senior Calyssa Post, Troy freshman Hannah Kim and Hartland junior Payton Rohrhoff. Utica freshman Victoria McCulloch also could be in the mix; she tied Monteith at their Regional before they went to a playoff.
Division 2 at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers West
Top-ranked: 1. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, 2. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 3. Battle Creek Harper Creek.
Dexter ended Farmington Hills Mercy’s three-year title run last fall, but Mercy could be back in the hunt ranked No. 4 entering the postseason. Forest Hills Central is seeking its first championship in this sport after tying for third a year ago, and Cranbrook finished second a year ago and in 2023 and is seeking its first team title since placing first in Division 3 in 2021. Harper Creek did not qualify for the Final as a team, finishing fourth at its Regional.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central: The Rangers return their top four from last season’s Finals run and won the Regional last week at Eldorado in Mason by 51 strokes. Junior Alivia Offer tied for sixth last season and led the most recent Regional barrage finishing first and followed by senior Caroline Vandervelde in second, junior Camille Tierney and freshman Abigail Offer tied for third and junior Glenna Rinckey tied for seventh.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood: The Cranes also won their Regional last week, at Pine Knob in Clarkston, by 51 strokes. Senior Josie Vandenhaute finished first, senior Brianna Giudici was second, sophomore Alaina Tato was third and senior Maddie Anderson placed fourth. Vandenhaute and Giudici both played in last season’s Final, Giudici tying for 19th individually.
Farmington Hills Mercy: Senior Megan Guerrera was the medalist at last week’s Regional at Farmington Hills Golf Club and is joined by junior Claire Bores as returning golfers from last season’s sixth-place Finals finisher – which was keyed by Guerrera’s tie for fourth individually. Freshman Carolyn Watson also played a huge role as Mercy finished second at the Regional, placing fifth.
Individuals: Half of last season’s top 10 individual finishers will be back in the field this weekend, with reigning champion Sophia McCollum leading the way coming off a Regional runner-up finish at Muskegon’s Lincoln Golf Club. She, Guerrera and Alivia Offer also are part of that group along with Lowell senior Kaila Richards and Dexter junior Maddy Manning, who tied for eighth a year ago, and Grand Rapids Christian sophomore Eleanor O’Grady was the Division 3 individual runner-up last season. Joining Offer, Vandenhaute, O’Grady and Guerrera as Regional champions last week were Battle Creek Harper Creek junior Haley Willi and South Lyon freshman Presley Kiehler.
Division 3 at Katke at Ferris State University
Top-ranked: 1. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, 2. Montague, 3. Flint Powers Catholic.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central has won the last three Division 3 championships but missed qualifying for this weekend by five strokes. Enter NorthPointe, last season’s Division 4 champion, and Montague, which finished fourth in Division 4 a year ago. Powers finished 15th in Division 3 last year and is expected to make a run at the title, and No. 4-ranked Lansing Catholic also is in the mix after finishing second to NorthPointe by a stroke in Division 4 last season.
Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian: Three of the team’s top four finishers from last season’s Final will bring that experience to Big Rapids, with sophomore Izzy Duflo having tied for fourth in Division 4 last year. NorthPointe won the Regional last week at Willow Woods in Portland by 47 strokes, with Duflo the medalist, freshman Avery Klein fourth, senior Clara Velting tied for seventh and junior Aila Ellis tied for 17th.
Montague: The Wildcats are seeking their first Finals title since winning Division 4 back-to-back in 2020 and 2021, and they finished 10 strokes behind NorthPointe a year ago. Four of last season’s golfers are back leading this run, with senior Molly Mulder winning last week’s Regional at nearby Old Channel Trail in a playoff and followed by junior Marguerite O’Connell in third and senior Addi Smith in seventh. Senior Brynlee Kessler also is back from last fall’s lineup.
Flint Powers Catholic: The Chargers are seeking their first Finals championship since 2018 and return three golfers from last season’s top five. Powers won the Regional at Cracklewood in Macomb with junior McKenna Kelly tied for second, sophomore Isabelle Mark fourth, junior Laney Applegate tied for eighth and senior Emma Darmafall 10th. Kelly, Applegate and Darmafall were part of the 2025 title pursuit.
Individuals: With O’Grady in Division 2, Detroit Country Day senior Halle Heineman is the highest returning placer from a year ago after tying for seventh. Williamston senior Paige Radebach returns after placing ninth, and Goodrich senior Brookelyn Webb also is back after finishing 10th. Owosso sophomore Samantha Ross joins the mix after tying for eighth in Division 2 last fall. Ross, Webb and Radebach joined Mulder and Duflo as Regional champs last week, as did Pinckney senior Katelyn Sanchez.
Division 4 at The Meadows at Grand Valley State
Top-ranked: 1. Bath, 2. Kalamazoo Christian, 3. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett.
Bath finished sixth last season and only two teams (Elk Rapids and Napoleon) that finished ahead of the Bees are in the field this weekend. While Bath is seeking its first championship, Kalamazoo Christian is hoping to earn its second after finishing first in 2024 and seventh a year ago. Liggett also is seeking a first Finals championship in this sport.
Bath: Sophomores Addilyn Duflo and Hattie Lalonde, senior Sophia Perales and junior Mya Vietzke were the team’s leading scorers at last year’s Final, and all four are back with Duflo also coming off a runner-up individual finish. The Bees won their Regional last week at Forest Akers East by 20 strokes ahead of Liggett as Duflo placed first, Perales third and Lalonde tied for fifth.
Kalamazoo Christian: Senior Lillian Locker and juniors Rylee Slater and Sydney Early are returning from last season’s Finals lineup, and Locker also played a Finals round for the championship-winning team in 2024. She and Early shared last week’s medalist honor at their Regional at Cascades in Jackson, with Slater sixth and senior Oliva Hanel tied for ninth.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett: The Knights are back at the Finals for the first time in several seasons thanks to a Regional round that while second to Bath at Forest Akers East was the third-lowest in all of Division 4. Sophomore Olivia Robinson and freshman Maria Saqqa tied for eighth at the Regional, and lone senior Natalie Greene placed 10th.
Individuals: Despite three contending teams moving into Division 3 this season, this tournament will still welcome back four of last season’s top 10 finishers with Duflo joined by Byron junior Adalen Brown (third), Elk Rapids sophomore Piper Smith (tied for fourth) and Fowler senior Noelle Krepps (seventh). Duflo, Locker and Early were joined as Regional champions last week by Piper, Krepps, Cass City senior Lindsey Langenburg and Napoleon junior Katelyn Ault.
PHOTO Detroit Country Day’s Halle Heineman lines up a putt during last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)