By BUTCH HARMON
The Lansing Catholic boys golf team was on a mission this season.
After finishing fifth at the 2012 Division 3 state finals, the Cougars have been focused on one thing: returning to the state finals and winning the state title.
That mission was accomplished at this year’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 state finals at Bedford Valley Golf Course in Battle Creek. After trailing four-time and defending Division 3 state champion Lumen Christi after the first day, the Cougars turned in a big second day on Saturday to win the fifth state title in Lansing Catholic boys’ golf history.
A total team effort was the key to the win, as all five Cougar golfers finished within 15 strokes of each other.
Junior Brent Marshall led the way for the Cougars with rounds of 73 on the first day and 74 on the second day for 147 total. That score was good enough for second place as an individual, but the state title was what was on Marshall’s mind.
“It felt great,” Marshall said. “[Winning state] was our goal going into the season, and it felt great to fulfill it.”
Marshall was joined in the top ten by senior Jacob Johnson, who put together rounds of 79 and 73 to finish with 152 total and in a tie for ninth place overall.
The Cougars also received a 156 from Adam Elias, a 160 from Joey Jurkovic, and a 162 from Niko Voutsaras.
“The key was our number five guy Adam Elias,” Marshall said. “ He shot a 75 on the second day. He really came through and helped us push ahead of Lumen Christi.”
That 75 came in handy for the Cougars, who trailed Lumen Christi by seven strokes, 304-311, after the first day. The Cougars shot 302 total on Saturday to overtake the Titans, who came in with a 314.
The championship capped a journey for the Cougars that actually began last June when they finished in fifth place at the state finals.
“We had high expectations going into the season,” said coach Charlie Furney. “We finished fifth last season, and we didn’t have any seniors. We pretty much had our entire team coming back. We set a goal of improving on that fifth-place finish, and we figured we had enough talent to finish on top, and that is what we did.”
While the title was the fifth for the Cougars, it was the fourth for Furney, who coached the team to state titles in 2001, 2004, and 2005. “Every one is special,” he said. “This year’s team was a little different in that we had two returning all-state players. We have two very good players in Johnson and Marshall. We knew that in every tournament we would have a couple of low scores. The key to our success is our depth and the number three and four players. In the district and regional, our fourth score was 89. The key for us was to get that fourth score in the low 80s and that’s what we did.”
Lansing Catholic’s fourth score on Friday was an 81 from Elias, while on Saturday the fourth score was an 80 from Voutsaras.
With all but Johnson returning next season, the Cougars will be looking to earn back-to-back titles for the second time in the last ten years.
“We graduate our best player, and it will be a big loss,” Marshall said, “but we have all our other players returning, and we hope that we can make up for it.”