Title IX at 50: Coach Clegg Sets Championship Standard at Grand Blanc
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 26, 2021
Grand Blanc’s ninth-place finish at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Girls Golf Final on Oct. 16 was its third-straight top-10 placing at the championship tournament, and the Bobcats remain second in MHSAA girls golf history with eight Finals championships.
Judy Clegg played a founding role in setting that standard nearly five decades ago.
Clegg became Grand Blanc’s first girls golf coach in 1975, leading the team to a fifth-place finish that spring in the third MHSAA Girls Golf Finals – when all 83 teams were assigned to one “Open Class” and nine advanced to the championship tournament.
A decade later, her 1985 Bobcats won the first of those eight Finals championships – with girls golf still played in one Open Class – and she led them to a runner-up finish in 1986, another Open Class championship in 1988, and then a Class A runner-up finish in 1990 and Class A title in 1991.
Over 21 seasons, Clegg guided Grand Blanc to a 243-72 match record, eight league and seven Regional championships before retiring in 1995. She was named to the Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Michigan High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2006.
The Grand Blanc View reported in detail her pioneering work with the program when she was inducted into the MHSCA Hall in 2006. (The statistics above were taken from her bio from the MHSCA Hall of Fame.)
Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.
Previous Title IX at 50 Spotlights
Oct. 19: Rockford Girls Set Pace, Hundreds After Have Continued to Chase - Read
Oct. 12: Bedford Volleyball Pioneer Continues Blazing Record-Setting Trail - Read
Oct. 5: Warner Paved Way to Legend Status with Record Rounds - Read
Sept. 28: Taylor Kennedy Gymnasts Earn Fame as 1st Champions - Read
Sept. 21: Portage Northern Star Byington Becomes Play-by-Play Pioneer - Read
Sept. 14: Guerra/Groat Legacy Continues to Serve St. Philip Well - Read
Sept. 7: Best-Ever Conversation Must Include Leland's Glass - Read
Aug. 31: We Will Celebrate Many Who Paved the Way - Read
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Blanc coach Judy Clegg (front row, second from left) serves on the MHSAA's Golf Committee in 1986. (Middle) Clegg (back row, far right) stands with her 1988 Finals championship team. (MHSAA File Photos.)
Returning with Full Lineup, Bark River-Harris Capitalizes Fully with Finals Sweep
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
May 27, 2026
HOUGHTON — When Bark River-Harris has enough golfers for a team, they’ve become pretty tough to beat in the Upper Peninsula.
The Broncos won a U.P. Finals title two years ago but didn’t have enough golfers for a team score at last year’s championship tournament. This year, they did – and they made it two Division 2 championship trophies earned in three years.
They won convincingly; their score of 416 was 12 strokes better than runner-up Cedarville on Wednesday at Portage Lake Golf Course. Hancock was third, Ironwood fourth, and last year’s champion, Newberry, fifth.
“We had high expectations this year. We had a good team last year,” Bark River-Harris coach Matt Sly said. “The three players that played this year — that was part of our core team — last year we didn’t have enough players. They came back this year, we were able to recruit our fourth player and she was a vital part of our team.
“So we knew we had a pretty good chance, and it does feel really great to win.”
Bark River-Harris sophomore Makayla Hyslop won the individual U.P. Division 2 title, carding a 91, which was three strokes better than Hancock’s Kaelyn Rouleau. Ironwood’s Cristina Braucher took third with a 96. Last year’s U.P. medalist, Cedarville/DeTour’s Makenna Smith, finished in fourth with a 97, and Newberry’s Blair Maki was fifth, shooting a 98.
“I think I really focused on hitting solid, straight drives because it’s a little narrow out there,” Hyslop said. “And I remember I was just trying to get the most distance I could out of all of my shots and to play smart and to stay out of trouble.
“All of the work I’ve put in the last two years kind of feels like I’m being rewarded for the long hours and practice rounds and all of the stuff I did got me to where I am, so it feels nice,” Hyslop added.
Her goal was to place in the top three herself, but to win as a team.
“I really didn’t expect to do as well as I did,” she said. “But I am very glad that it went the way that it did. My first few holes started off really strong. I parred my first, so that gave me a good confidence boost. And probably around six holes in, I realized I was doing pretty well. When it came down to the last few holes, I realized I really could win if I just stayed focused and control what I can.”
The team title was a big deal as well.
The three golfers who were on last year’s team at the Finals all placed among the top 10 Wednesday. In addition to Hyslop, sophomore Alana Nault was sixth with a 99 and senior Dakota Bridges ninth with a 103.
Senior Julia Nault tied for 25th from that integral fourth spot to round out the lineup.
“It was really special to win because we’re losing two seniors, so to win it with them feels really special, especially because we could have won it last year with one of our seniors (Dakota Bridges) if we had another girl,” Hyslop said. “So to be able to get a title as a sophomore and experience it with one of my favorite seniors was really special.”
PHOTOS (Top) The Bark River-Harris girls golf team poses for a photo Wednesday with its latest championship trophy. (Middle) Cedarville/DeTour's McKenna Smith follows an approach shot. (Top photo courtesy of Painesdale Jeffers’ athletic department. Action photo by Jason Juno.)