Reigning Champs Retain Titles in D4
October 17, 2015
By Mark Meyer
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – A pair of twos were wild Saturday afternoon at Forest Akers East golf course.
Twos as in two straight Lower Peninsula Division 4 girls golf titles for Kalamazoo Hackett and two straight individual medalist honors for Maple City Glen Lake junior Nichole Cox.
Hackett held off Macomb Lutheran North to win the team title by nine strokes (684-693) while Cox carded a 74 to go with her 76 on Friday for a two-day total of 150, six strokes better than Frankenmuth runner-up Meg Watkins.
Hackett coach Alan Radomsky stood off to the side of the scoreboard as the team totals were being tabulated. He was comfortable in knowing that his team was prepared to play its best golf, despite the blustery, 45-degree weather.
“I don’t do a lot of coaching when the girls are on the course,” said Radomsky, whose team led by three strokes after Friday’s opening round. “I was confident in knowing that they were prepared to make the shots that would keep us in contention.
“Even though we won by a lot last year (33 strokes), I felt just as good going into the final round this year because I knew the girls would bring their best. That’s the kind of team they are.”
Junior Naomi Keyte led Hackett with a 76, and finished third overall at 158. Teammates Lizzie Stull (78-90) and Becca Radomsky (88-80) tied for sixth overall at 168.
“Lizzie didn’t quite have the round she was hoping for but Naomi and Becca were there to back her up,” Radomsky said, “and that’s pretty much how it’s been throughout the season. They pick each other up, support one another and refuse to let anything get them down.
“This team, more than any other I’ve coached (at Hackett) has truly exemplified what it means to be a team.”
Molly Clark (102-94) and Savannah Madden (96-105) completed the scoring for Hackett, which held a 344-347 lead over Lutheran North after 18 holes.
Lutheran North placed three individuals in the top 10. Sophomore Serena Nguyen shot 82-80 to finish fourth at 162 while teammates Sydney Martens (85-85) and Kaity Rittner (85-86) finished ninth and 10th, respectively.
Watkins’ 75 on Saturday helped Frankenmuth secure third place at 722 while Livonia Ladywood (725) and Lansing Catholic (761) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Meanwhile, Cox – who traveled nearly 200 miles from her home in Leelanau County’s Kasson Township (population of approximately 1,500) – felt right at home amid the stiff wind and cold temperature.
“I’m used to it, almost to the point where I look forward to it,” Cox said. “I think I do have an advantage in that the cooler temperatures really don’t bother me.”
Cox said she had a feeling it might be a good day after draining a long birdie putt on the opening hole.
“It started poorly (on hole No. 5) because I pulled my drive under a tree and then had to punch out,” Cox said. “I end up on the back side of the green, a long ways away. Then somehow I manage to sink this impossible, twisty-turning putt for a birdie. I had a feeling some more good things were going to happen.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Kalamazoo Hackett repeated as LP Division 4 champion, this time winning at Forest Akers East. (Middle) Maple City Glen Lake's Nichole Cox, left, and Frankenmuth's Meg Watkins claimed the top two spots in the individual standings. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
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.”
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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.)