Sisters Shine as Dow Charges to 1st Title
October 15, 2016
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
ALLENDALE – A friendly rivalry between two talented sisters helped the Midland Dow girls golf team accomplish a feat this weekend that was four years in the making.
Senior Stephanie Carras and junior Alexis Carras forged a competitive battle for individual honors and propelled the Chargers to a victory at Saturday’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final at The Meadows at Grand Valley State.
Midland Dow won its first MHSAA girls golf title in school history by firing a two-day total of 645. It defeated runner-up and reigning champion Birmingham Seaholm by a whopping 48 strokes.
Stephanie Carras captured medalist honors with a 139 to outduel her younger sibling by six strokes. Flushing’s Kerrigan Parks was third with a 150.
“It’s a healthy rivalry between us,” said Stephanie Carras, who shot under-par both days with rounds of 69 and 70. “We support each other, and it helps both of us.”
Added Alexis Carras, who shot 76 on Friday before closing with a final round 4-under 69: “We’re always secretly hoping the other one does well too. If we’re close, we start getting on each other. I didn’t know what I was shooting until the last hole when my dad told me. I didn’t know I was beating Steph.”
Both girls tied the school record with their 69s. Stephanie Carras equaled the score of 2009 Finals medalist Kim Dihn earlier in the season and duplicated that number Friday.
“It’s definitely a friendly rivalry between those two, which pushes them and helped us to accomplish as a team what we just did today,” Midland Dow coach Doug Bradford said. “They root for each other, but there is a competitiveness between them. They always want to know where the other one is and how close they are.
“It was a great effort today, and obviously Stephanie and Alexis just played lights out.”
The Chargers had been close in previous seasons with top-5 finishes at the Finals each of the last three seasons.
They finished runner-up a year ago to Birmingham Seaholm, which saw a stretch of three consecutive Division 2 crowns come to an end.
“We quietly talked about it all year,” Bradford said. “We didn’t come out and talk about it every day, but we talked about the goal and the goal was a state championship. We had three goals. Win league, win regionals and then state.
“Any state championship is wonderful, and it’s what you dream of as a kid. Either to play for one or coach one and to be a part of this is just really fun. The freshmen coming through have been so close, and for them to finish their careers with a state championship is just great.”
The Chargers received contributions from others as well. Junior Giacomina Fabiano and seniors Caroline Szabo and Morgan Dieters also delivered consistent scores.
Szabo said team chemistry was the catalyst in her team’s triumph.
“We’re all such good friends, and it is so cool to do it with people you are close with,” she said. “We want to do well for each other, not just ourselves. This is really amazing because we’ve done a ton of things that this program has never done, but we couldn’t do the one we really wanted. This was our ultimate goal, and it’s really amazing.”
Stephanie Carras, who will play golf at the University of Georgia next season, also had motivation from last year.
She finished runner-up for medalist honors, but saved her best for last with solid putting on the greens.
“It’s incredible, and I’m so excited because I’ve never won as an individual,” Stephanie Carras said. “This is big, and yesterday and today my putting was just going well. I feel like that helped me out here. I had the lead going into today, but my coach told me it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
The Chargers built a commanding 19-stroke lead after the first day.
“We knew we were in good shape, but they still put some pressure on themselves,” Bradford said. “I think they did a great job of finishing, and I’m really proud of them.”
Alexis Carras said she and her teammates took the early advantage in stride and just dedicated themselves to remaining poised.
“Last year was disappointing because we didn’t play well, and we were just really hoping for it this year,” she said. “We just decided to play our games and whatever happens, happens. Just do your best, and that’s what we did. I can’t believe it. This is surreal.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Midland Dow's Stephanie Carras watches one of her shots during Saturday's second round at The Meadows. (Middle) Sister Alexis Carras follows through during her second round. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, Napoleon's McCubbins clinch 1st Finals Titles
By
Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com
October 18, 2025
BIG RAPIDS – The first time was a charm for Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian girls golf coach Myrna Duflo and her freshman daughter, Izzy, at the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final this weekend at Katke Golf Course.
For Napoleon senior Anna McCubbins, persistence paid off in a major way.
In her first season as NorthPointe Christian’s head coach, Myrna Duflo guided the Mustangs to their first-ever Finals title. Izzy Duflo has been their No. 1 golfer all season and she was again this weekend, placing fourth individually with a two-day total of 166 (78-88).
Meanwhile, McCubbins cruised to her first championship in her fourth Finals appearance by firing a 155 (79-76) in clearing the rest of the field by five strokes.
“It’s awesome. It’s very surreal. I’m still in a little bit of shock about it,” Myrna Duflo said. “It’s my first year coaching it and I have a great group of girls, and they’re the ones that got the job done, not me. They did the hard work – I just encouraged them throughout the day.”
NorthPointe Christian shot 374 on Friday and 371 in soggy, challenging conditions Saturday. The second round was originally scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, but it was bumped to 9 a.m. in hopes of dodging some of the inclement weather before heavy rains forced a postponement to an 11 a.m. start after all.
NorthPointe Christian edged Lansing Catholic by one shot, as the Cougars came oh, so close to their second Finals crown in three years. NorthPointe Christian was runner-up last season, and Lansing Catholic also finished second in 2020 and 2021.
When the dust settled Saturday – or, more appropriately, as the wet course began to dry out a bit – Elk Rapids placed third (753), followed by Montague in fourth (755) and Napoleon fifth (778).
“It feels really good,” Izzy Duflo said as she cradled the championship trophy. “Being a freshman, knowing my team did well throughout the season, I’m happy.”
The word “happy” is not strong enough to describe the emotions McCubbins felt after she sealed the medalist honor. She birdied two of her first four holes Saturday and had three of them in her 4-over-par round.
McCubbins tied for 11th at the Final as a freshman, then placed seventh in both her sophomore and junior seasons.
“Seriously, I’ve dreamed about this moment at least four times,” said McCubbins, who will play next for Saginaw Valley State University. “It’s just such a crazy, surreal experience. Just happy tears, honestly.”
Rounding out the top 10 individual finishers were Bath’s Addilyn Duflo in second (160), Byron’s Adalen Brown third (165), Elk Rapids’ Piper Smith and NorthPointe Christian’s Izzy Duflo tied for fourth (166), Lansing Catholic’s Addi Rule sixth (173), Fowler’s Noelle Krepps seventh (177), NorthPointe Christian’s Natalie Kent eighth (179), Montague’s Cadence Fox ninth (180), and Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central’s Nora Kinsey 10th (182).
A Montague golfer’s bag of clubs went missing Saturday morning. On the driving range during warmups, McCubbins loaned her driver to the Montague golfer.
On top of the goodwill gesture, McCubbins said she felt a sense of fulfillment in capturing the individual title. Her life the past four years has been committed to golf and getting better, she said.
“Golf, it’s such a mental game. Just have a good, mental state the entire day. Stay calm, you know, don’t get super upset. Play with emotion without being emotional, and I feel like I really pulled that off today,” she said. “Especially with the weather being as bad as it was, I’ve had experience playing in bad weather, I know what that’s like, and I think that’s what gave me an advantage.”
NorthPointe’s Aila Ellis (196) and Clara Velting (204) rounded out their team’s top four scorers, while Kezia Beeke shot 221 for the Mustangs.
Beeke, who was one of two seniors on the NorthPointe squad, said that sticking with it and staying together were among the keys for her team.
“We were really encouraged. Coach did a lot of encouragement over the season and over today and yesterday, and I just think that encouragement and just knowing our team is so bonded and we’re so impacted by each other that we really just pushed through and we were able to win,” Beeke said.
“It’s proven that if you know your team well and you were loved and were cared for by your team and you know that, you significantly would do better. That’s what I think makes our team such a good team is because we can love each other well and support each other no matter what happens on the course.”
Izzy Duflo added team bonding and motivating each other also carried the Mustangs, who finished runner-up to Montague in the Regional by one shot.
Myrna Duflo quipped, maybe NorthPointe will win the Regional next year. For now, the Finals championship will suit the Mustangs just fine.
“Next year’s a new year and hopefully we’ll be standing here again,” coach Duflo said. “At the end of the day, this is what we trained for all season, and we’ve worked really hard.”
PHOTOS (Top) NorthPointe Christian's Izzy Duflo tees off during the opening round of the Division 4 Final on Friday. (Middle) Napoleon's Anna McCubbins follows an approach shot Saturday. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene. McCubbins photo submitted by the Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association.)