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	The Manchester Enterprise A Heritage Newspaper Weekly Publication

Dutchmen seek outright league title

Regular season league champs take fifth in home invitational

By Ed Patino, Staff Writer

PUBLISHED: May 15, 2008

Manchester varsity boys golf coach John Wilkins is looking for consistency out of his team as it prepares to defend its Cascades Conference championship.

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The Flying Dutchmen granted his wish May 10 as they posted a team score of 326 and placed fifth in the Manchester Invitational at Rustic Glen Golf Course.

Chelsea shot a team score of 303 to win the event and edge out second-place Dexter, which carded 304. Chelsea's "B" team was third with 318 and Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard placed fourth with 324. There were 22 teams overall in the invitational.

"Chelsea and Dexter are bigger schools and they shot well," Wilkins said. "The only school that was of similar size to us was Gabriel Richard, and they're Division 3. You could pick a few spots were we could've picked up extra strokes, but I'm pretty happy with us shooting 326."

Justin Welton led the way for the Dutchmen with a round of 75. He tied for fourth individually with several other golfers, but held the tiebreaker on a scorecard playoff.

Nik Stetler added a round of 82, while Rob Ford carded an 83. Travis Stemen finished with an 86 on the day for Manchester.

"Justin had another great day for us," Wilkins said. "Nik, Rob and Travis also shot well. All three of them were steady."

Each of Chelsea's golfers carded rounds of 78 or lower. Danny Battistone, Elliot Marshall and Chris LaDuke each shot a 75, while Kyle George posted a round of 78 for the Bulldogs.

"Chelsea's round was just phenomenal," Wilkins said.

Dexter was led by Jordan Marken, who finished with a 73 and earned medalist honors for the event after beating out teammate Don Knight, who also shot a 73, in a four-hole playoff. Brent Muse shot a 77 and Hunter Lyons added an 81 for the Dreadnaughts.

Jeff Olszewski shot a round of 77 to lead Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard. Alex Edwards added an 81, while Bill Hanley shot an 82. Austin Watson posted an 84 for the Fighting Irish.

"Competing against the bigger schools can't hurt us, because our conference is good and competitive all the way through," Wilkins said. "It's good to see different competition, and it helps us keep our game up."

Clinton also competed in the invitational, placing 13th with a team score of 360. Will Frederick led the Redskins with a round of 78. A.J. Stressel added a 93, while Max Rebotiaro shot a 94. Steve Burton finished with a 95 for the Redskins.

After winning the regular season championship in the Cascades Conference, the Dutchmen went after the outright title Wednesday in the league tournament hosted by Addison at Devils Lake Golf Course.

"Our focus is on the conference tournament and finishing ahead of (second-place) Napoleon," Wilkins said. "We'll then get ready for districts."

Manchester will host the Division 4 district tournament May 23 at Rustic Glen Golf Course.

Cascades Jamboree at Hanover-Horton

A second-place finish was good enough to give Manchester the Cascades Conference regular season championship May 8 at a league jamboree hosted by Hanover-Horton at Concord Hills Golf Course.

The Flying Dutchmen carded a team score of 164 for second place. Vandercook Lake won the event with 162.

More importantly for the Dutchmen was finishing ahead of Napoleon, which placed third in the event with 170. Two days after the Pirates pulled to within a single point of the Manchester in the league standings, the Dutchmen's performance at Concord Hills helped them finish two points ahead of Napoleon for the season. Manchester finished with 56 points in the regular season while the Pirates had 54.

Rob Ford led the charge for the Dutchmen, earning event medalist honors with a round of 37.

"It was a great performance by Rob," Manchester coach John Wilkins said. "The next best finish in the meet was a 39, so Rob really came through big."

Travis Stemen and Trevor Smith each carded a 42 for the Dutchmen. Justin Welton rounded out the scoring for Manchester with a 43.

"Trevor is our sixth man and he helped us out a lot," Wilkins said. "Justin struggled a little bit for him, but Rob was able to pick us up."

Hanover-Horton was fourth in the event with a team score of 179, while Addison placed fifth with 180. Michigan Center (sixth, 197), East Jackson (seventh, 198) and Grass Lake (eighth, 243) rounded out the field.

Staff Writer Ed Patino can be reached at 428-8173 or epatino@heritage.com.