The MHSAA lower peninsula boys golf regional tournaments were held this week with the top three teams at each event qualifying for the state meet, along with the three best individuals from the non-qualifying teams.
In Regional #1 at Milham Park in Kalamazoo on Tuesday, Portage Northern took third to send five Huskies forward. PN’s Braden Falk shot a 73, good for 3rd best among all individuals. Joining him at the state meet will be Rylan Falk, Gath Rathbun, Connor Sullivan, and Landon Ashmore.
Over at Regional #9 in Coldwater, Gull Lake claimed the team championship led by Bryce Wheeler’s third-place round of 74 and Garret Hoard’s fifth-place 78. Zach Collard, Ben Szabo, and Kiley Chrisman are the other Blue Devils who advance. Hayden Goodman of Sturgis was one stroke shy of individual qualification, tying for seventh with a score of 81.
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At Regional #15 from South Haven’s Hawkshead, Schoolcraft finished second and Parchment placed third to push both SAC schools forward. The Eagles had Max Desmond place sixth with an 84 and Myalz Berkheiser 10th with an 86. Jack VanDam, Shane Rykse, and Ty Rykse also move on for Schoolcraft. The Panthers had Jimmy Lindstrom place third overall with an 82 and his classmate Zachary Hermenitt fourth one stroke back. Ethan Rupp, Brecklyn Bootland, and Logan Butler will join them representing Parchment.
For Regional #21 at Pine View in Three Rivers, Hackett Catholic took home the team championship with crosstown foe Kalamazoo Christian finishing second. All 10 players between the two schools placed in the top 10 individually with HCP’s Thomas Keyte first with a 72, followed by teammate Ben Bridenstine (74) and KC’s Kyle Nash (78). The other Irish qualifiers are Niklas Johnasson (t-5th), Ryan Chafty (t-5th), and Grayson Walters (8th). The other Comets were Kylin Geresy (4th), Drew Vanderlaan (7th), Ty Petitt (t-9th), and Ethan Verkaik (t-9th).
Climax-Scotts tied Bridgman for third with a 394 team score but just missed out on qualification via tiebreaker. Centreville was able to get an individual qualifier with Andrew Cropsey’s 90 getting him the last spot. Burr Oak’s Flavio Hernandez was one stroke off him at 91, Colon’s Simon Vinson two back at 92, and White Pigeon’s Luke Gropp four off at 94.
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The state championship meets are set for next Friday and Saturday with Division 1 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West, D2 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley, D3 at Grand Valley’s Meadows, and D4 at Frakenmuth’s Fortress. Additional state championship information can be found via MHSAA.