By BUTCH HARMON
After a four-year drought of not making the state finals, the East Lansing boys golf team was back on the highest stage of Michigan high school golf this season.
After capturing the CAAC Blue title, the Trojans qualified for the Division 2 state finals at The Meadows golf course on the campus of Grand Valley State University. The Trojans turned in a pair of strong efforts at the two-day event, scoring 321 on the first day and 329 on the second day. The total of 650 was 14 shots off the score of state champion Grand Rapids Christian and enabled East Lansing to finish in fourth place as a team.
“I thought we played okay,” East Lansing golf coach Victor Whipp said. “We were up and down, but I thought we played well overall. It was not our best, but we played okay.”
The Trojans had a balanced effort at the state meet, as all five golfers finished within seven strokes of each other. Sophomore Matt Rogerson led the way with a two-day total of 162, while senior Connor Danigelis finished with 165. Sophomore Joe Croom added a 166 while senior Chad McFee shot 167 and senior Jack Fossum shot 169.
Balance was a key to East Lansing’s success all season. “Sophomore Joe Croom played number one for us, but we have four players who can all be number one,” Whipp said.
The state tournament performance was the cap to a solid year for the East Lansing golfers. Along with winning the CAAC Blue title, they also won the district championship and were just one stroke away from adding a regional championship.
“I’m proud of the guys,” Whipp said. “We had a good year and this was a good group of kids. We have academic all-state kids and we are a gold-medal school.
“We won our conference, and we are a D2 school in a D1 conference. We also won the Haslett Invitational, and we were runner-up at a half dozen other tournaments. The guys learned a lot this year, and they learned how to win.”
While the Trojans will graduate some key seniors, the future looks bright, with several talented golfers due back next spring.
“We should be real good the next couple of years,” Whipp said.