West Iron Girls Claim 1st Title since 2005
May 30, 2019
By Adam Niemi
Special for Second Half
IRON RIVER – The West Iron County girls teamed up with the boys to defend home turf during the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 2 Finals on Thursday.
The Wykons girls carded a 433 for team honors. Second-place Mya Grubbs scored the Wykons' best score with a 98 behind leading medalist Payton Dube of Hancock (79).
The West Iron boys' team also won to key a hometown sweep at George Young Resort, located about 10 miles east of Iron River.
The Finals title was the first for the girls since 2005.
"Exceptionally proud of both boys and girls," West Iron County head coach Mark Martini said. "To come back and fight like that is an attribute not everybody has."
Crystal Falls Forest Park (448) took second place, followed by Munising (475) and Bark River-Harris (556).
Hancock, Newberry, Norway and St. Ignace did not field enough golfers for a team score.
West Iron's Anna Malmquist scored a 99, tied for third with St. Ignace's Olivia Champion.
Sarah Premo was Forest Park's leading golfer. She medaled at fifth place with a 104.
"They didn't get in a lot of trouble," Forest Park head coach Patrick Sommers said of his team. "They kept the ball in play, and they played very consistent golf."
Martini said there wasn't a key moment to the Wykons' win. It was just about building and maintaining momentum among the flights.
"It was just kind of switched different times, different holes, different places," he said. "When they came in, I was really amazed they scored that well in the last seven holes."
And, last but not least, Martini said, limiting mistakes is key at a tricky course like Young's. Many tee-offs Thursday ended with the ball echoing off tree trunks among the forest-lined fairways.
"The woods are bad here," Martini said.
Martini, who knew the man for which the course is named, said the millionaire Young designed each hole from inspiration by holes he played on courses around the world.
The No. 3 at Young's, for instance, is a par-3, 138 yards and flanked by bunkers which hug the edge of the green. But the depth perception of the hole from the tee box on a hill well above the green can easily complicate a young golfer's swing.
On Thursday, it did. Like many of the other 17 holes. Thus, Young's is a course that isn't about gaining ground as it is limiting mistakes.
"If you can play off the tee, you're going to help yourself out," Norway head coach Joby Sullivan said. "With the big greens, it really allows for that second shot on the par-4s. The greens are rolling – they're really nice as well."
While Norway didn't qualify for a team score, the Knights were led by Mary Slagle's 121 to finish 13th.
Munising's low scorer was Taylor Downs at 105. Teammates Sydney Curtis (117) and Olivia Koenig (118) took 10th and 11th, respectively.
Priya Rao led Newberry with a 125. Brylea Johnson led Bark River-Harris with a 128.
PHOTOS: (Top) Hancock's Peyton Dube fires an approach during her championship-winning round Thursday. (Middle) The West Iron County girls and boys title-winning teams. (Photos by Adam Niemi.)
Grand Rapids Catholic Central Extends Title Streak, O'Grady Reigns Again
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
October 18, 2025
EAST LANSING — Successful title defenses from the Grand Rapids area sure were the themes of the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Girls Golf Final this weekend at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West.
From a team perspective, Grand Rapids Catholic Central fulfilled a season with sky-high expectations, easily winning its third-straight championship with a score of 682.
The Cougars were the team to chase all season with four golfers back after winning last year’s Final by 65 strokes.
Ultimately though, there wasn’t a team in Division 3 that could catch and dethrone them.
“There definitely was a target,” Catholic Central coach Kim Napieralski said. “The expectations weren’t anything new or different. They just leveled up to it.”
Catholic Central had three golfers earn top-7 individual finishes, led by senior Kelsey Preston (81-78-159), who took third. Senior Margaret Deimel finished with a 166 (80-86) to place sixth, while senior Sofia Piccione added a 167 (81-86) to finish in a tie for seventh.
“All of them are super competitive,” Napieralski said of her team. “They are grinders. If they have a bad hole or two, they get right back into it. That’s the biggest strength of our team, is our mental ability to get through the round comfortably even when there is bad stuff happening.”
There was also a repeat winner individually, with Grand Rapids Christian senior Lillian O’Grady reigning again after winning last year at Bedford Valley in Battle Creek.
After birdieing five holes to shoot 72 in Friday’s first round, O’Grady birdied six more holes during her second round Saturday, finishing with a 1-under par score of 71 for a two-day total of 143.
“This course, you can kind of be more aggressive with it and really hit it to good spots on the greens,” said O’Grady, who will play next at the University of Findlay. “I would say it was a lot of good wedge shots into the greens and making some pretty good putts. In some moments, my driver was off but my irons were really good, and I was making the putts. And then other times my irons were off but my short game was really good. All combined together, it was really good.”
O’Grady did have a different dynamic winning the title this year, as her closest pursuer was sister Eleanor, a freshman who finished runner-up with a score of 156 (78-78) in what could be a passing of the baton within the family.
“It was so special to have my sister on the team and experience this with her,” Lillian said of Eleanor. “Hopefully she can do what I’ve done these years.”
Making its first appearance as a team at an MHSAA Final since 2021, Grand Rapids Christian finished runner-up, surging ahead of Detroit Country Day with a strong second-day-total of 353 to finish at 711.
Country Day was third at 731 (356-375), Grand Rapids South Christian was fourth at 734, and Goodrich rounded out the top five with a score of 745.
“I thought we played about as well as we could today,” Grand Rapids Christian coach Seth Davis said. “This course is tough and was set up really tough. You play that first day and you kind of get over that first tournament-day thoughts of, ‘What does this place look like?’ But the second day, you just feel a bit more confident and you are hitting your stride. We played more like we could.”
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Margaret Deimel chips toward the green Saturday at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Golf Final. (Middle) Grand Rapids Christian’s Lillian O’Grady follows a drive at Forest Akers West. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)