GIRLS GOLF: Adams chips way to state runner-up finish
Troy lands 11th, Troy Athens 13th, Stoney Creek 15th at D-1 finals
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
EAST LANSING — One of the most successful girls golf seasons in Rochester Adams history ended Friday.
The Highlanders walked away with some much-expected hardware.
Top-ranked Adams finished in the runner-up slot at 322.
Rochester Adams finished second at the Division 1 state finals with a 322 team score — the Highlanders’ best finish since 1999. Courtesy Photo | Rochester Adams Athletics
Northville surrendered the top spot in the Division 1 state rankings to Adams late in the regular season, as the Highlanders ended up winning 10 total tournaments and beat the Mustangs head-to-head twice in September and October.
This time around, Northville recorded a play-five, count-four team score of 313 to win its third straight state championship. Rochester Adams finished nine strokes behind the leaders.
Adams, which finished seventh in D-1 last season, previously grabbed the state runner-up slot back in 1999. The Highlanders posted their best overall season since that campaign over two decades ago.
Adams held a two-stroke lead with five holes remaining. Northville picked it up down the stretch and finished strong for the nine-stroke victory at Forest Akers East Course at Michigan State University. Previously before their streak of three straight D-1 titles, the Mustangs finished second in D-1 back in 2004.
Grand Blanc (328), Plymouth (330) and Rockford (334) rounded out the top five at the one-day tournament. Troy finished 11th (363), Troy Athens 13th (378) and Rochester Stoney Creek 15th (386) to wrap up the local schools.
Grand Blanc’s Kate Brody shot an even-par round of 70 to earn medalist honors. Utica Eisenhower’s Ariel Chang and Ann Arbor Skyline’s Adie Maki both carded 73s to tie for second, while Plymouth’s Bridget Boczar and East Kentwood’s Elise Fennell tied for fourth with rounds of 74. The top 11 all shot 76 or lower.
Northville’s Samantha Coleman tied for sixth with a 76 to lead the victorious Mustangs. Evil Gill and Haesol Park tied for 14th with scores of 79 and Katelyn Tokarz finished 18th at 80. All five of Northville’s players finished in the top 20, as Meghan Vallabhaneni’s 79 was good for 19th but did not count in the team score.
Adams sophomore Grace Wang and freshman Laura Liu both finished in the top 15 to lead the Highlanders. Wang finished in a three-way tie for ninth at 76 to reach the individual medalist standings, while Liu carded 78 and tied for 13th overall. Seniors Carly Ortwine and Alyssa Fodale both tied for 27th with 84s and freshman Kate Fodale was 58th with a 93.
Troy was paced by Jennifer Liu 33rd-place finish (86). Riley Hayden (37th, 87), Donna Yoon (37th, 87), Kaylee Szczublewski (95th, 103) and Thersa Wei (102nd, 106) also competed for the Colts.
Athens had one of its best state finishes in recent years, and was led by sophomore Olivia Hemmila’s 14th-place finish of 79. Amelia Lin (77th, 99), Ava Weeks (77th, 99), Miranda McKee (86th, 101) and Sreejani Kanuri (103rd, 107) aided the Red Hawks’ effort.
Stoney Creek has qualified a team or an individual 14 straight seasons and this year was paced by junior Addie Delcamp’s 37th-place finish at 87. Rebekah Drake (60th, 94), Peyton Donovan (90th, 102), Olivia Chittick (95th, 103) and Marisa Kelley (98th, 104) were the Cougars’ other competitors.
DIVISION 2
South Lyon captured its first state title after numerous top 10 finishes to lead the pack at First Akers East Course.
The Lions collected a play-five, count-four score of 335 to edge runner-up Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (338) by three strokes. Okemos (345), Haslett (349) and Fenton (363) rounded out the top five in the field of 18 schools.
Okemos’ Allison Cui captured medalist honors with a round of 70, three strokes ahead of South Lyon’s Katherine Potter (73) and seven shots ahead of Forest Hills Northern’s Lilia Henkel (77) and Haslett’s Olivia Still (77). Forest Hills Northern’s Anna Fray was the only other golfer to break 80 on the day, carding an 78 to finish fifth.
Gabriella Tapp (80), Isabella Campbell (85) and Sophia Joseph (97) aided South Lyon’s winning effort.
The match was played under stiff winds to the northeast.
The sole local individual qualifier in the field was Auburn Hills Avondale freshman Ria Narang, who shot a 107 and placed 84th.
DIVISION 3
Birmingham Marian spent the entire season ranked No. 1 in Division 3, winning the prestigious Oakland County Division I tournament, league, district, and regional titles along the way.
The Mustangs lived up to their top billing by collecting a play-five, count-four score of 312 on the day to win by 15 strokes. Macomb Lutheran North (327), Grand Rapids South Christian (330), Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood (340) and Flint Powers Catholic (346) followed suit in the top five of the 18-school field at Forest Akers East Course at Michigan State University.
Senior Shannon Kennedy defended her individual crown with a round of 70 at Forest Akers East Course on the campus of Michigan State University.
Lauren Sass (12th, 79), Sarah Kuredjian (16th, 81) and Ashley Carroll (19th, 82) completed Marian’s sterling team score.
Kennedy won her title on a first-hole playoff, as Grand Rapids Christian’s Ryann Breslin also came back to the club house with a 70.
Lutheran North’s Lauren Timpf was third one stroke back at 71, while South Christian’s Ashley Thomas (75) and both Taylor Elias of Lutheran North (76) and Frankenmuth’s Ella Smith (76) tied for fifth in the medalist standings. The top 11 all shot 78 or lower.
Two local individual qualifiers also competed at the D-3 finals. Ortonville Brandon junior Leah LaFlueur tied for 48th (91) and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep senior Julia Fitzpatrick placed 76th (99).
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