By John Raffel
Gary Buchholz liked what he saw from his Central Montcalm girls golfers this season.
Buchholz has been coaching the team for 13 years, and the squad finished second in the Central State Activities Association this fall and qualified for the Division 3 state finals.
“I knew we had a chance to have a good year,” he said. “Our goal was to get to the state finals.”
At the finals, the Hornets finished 12th out of 15 teams with an 841. During the first round at Meadows Golf Course at Grand Valley State University, they shot a 431. They decreased that by 21 the second day for a 410.
Ava Miller led the way with scores of 103 and 93 for 196. Tawney Graves, who qualified individually for the state finals in 2013, had 99 and 109 for 208, followed by Sophie Villet at 114 and 100 for 214, and Samantha Kirk with 115 and 108 for 223. Nicole Conover had 121 and 119 for 240.
Last year, Central Montcalm shot a 388 at regionals but didn’t qualify for state. This year, the team of three seniors and two juniors had a 407 to place third at regionals and make the trip to state.
During the season, Graves was No. 1 and Miller was No. 2.
Graves, who averaged 48 for the season, “putted a lot better this year,” Buchholz said. “She took some private lessons. She worked on it during the off-season, and it paid dividends for her. She medaled at three invites this year and had an 86 for her low score. That’s a good score.”
Miller, a junior, was No. 2 for the season but finished as the top Hornet at the state finals. “She’s a very good ball striker,” Buchholz said. “She has to do a little work on her putting during the off-season.”
Villet, Buchholz noted, is going through a swing change. Kirk, another senior, “has always been a good ball striker,” Buchholz said about his No. 4 player.
No. 5 was Conover, a junior. “She shot a 111 at regionals,” Buchholz said. “That was her best score of the season.”
Buchholz has two of his top five golfers returning in Miller and Conover. He had eight total golfers on his varsity squad.