News

By Ryan Schlehuber, MCC Sportswriter

The Montcalm Community College men’s golf team recently captured back-to-back wins in its latest regular season competition.  

After being delayed three weeks due to inclement weather — including a tornado threat — the Centurions finally got to the greens and came away with two consecutive team wins, taking first place at the Ancilla College Invitational in Plymouth, Ind., April 13, and, most recently, MCC took first place at the Grand Rapids Community College Invitational at Egypt Valley Country Club, Monday, April 14.  

“Both were very tough days in the wind, but we were able to win them,” said Doug Harkema, Centurions Head Coach. 

At the GRCC Invitational, with several teams competing, MCC scored a team total of 323, with GRCC finishing in second place with 330 and Delta College scoring 333 to take third place. 

With wind yet again a factor, only three golfers managed to shoot under 80 overall, with MCC freshman Mason Blair (Holt, Mich.) scoring a team-best 79, while sophomore teammate Zach Johnson (Holt, Mich.) scored 80 and freshman Kenny Mitchell (Cedar Springs, Mich.) finishing out at 82 to round out the top three for the Centurions. 

“Conditions have been really tough on spring golf right now, so just being able to get back outside was great,” Harkema said. “It’s a quick season and I know the weather — and our scores — will get better and we’re going to play it out as best as we can to be ready for regionals. We’re all really excited where we are at right now.” 

Harkema pointed out it was Mitchell’s first time playing in the team’s five-man rotation and said he was impressed with what he saw out of him. 

“He’s really coming on,” Harkema said of Mitchell. 

At Ancilla, which got postponed twice until it was finally played April 13, which only three teams were able to fit it in their schedule by then, MCC won with a top score of 314, with Marian Unviersity’s Ancilla College finishing second with 321, and Schoolcraft Community College finished third with 332. 

Johnson shined for the Centurions at Ancilla, scoring an overall 75, which tied for first place in individual play with Ancilla’s Andrew Cordova. 

Johnson’s feat earned him the MCCAA Western Conference Player of the Week award. 

“I feel proud about winning the conference player of the week because it shows off all the hard work that I have put in over the past couple years,” Johnson said. “I think the strongpoint of my game, so far, has been my mental game. I think that I am more confident in my ability to score well and, also, I’m not finding myself as frustrated out on the course if something bad happens.” 

Centurions sophomore Jerald Brownell (Cedars Springs, Mich.) finished second on the team with a 78 while freshman Mason Blair (Holt, Mich.) and Mitchell tied with 79. Sophomore Ryan Clingenpeel (East Lansing, Mich.) and Ethan Johnson (Holt, Mich.) finished close behind, scoring 82 and 83, respectively.   

Johnson said he and his teammates had to make a few adjustments in their gameplan with the wind conditions, both physically as well as mentally. 

“The gameplan going into the windy conditions was to understand that I don’t know what a good score is with the wind and to not get frustrated if I’m not doing too good because everyone else out there might not be doing well either because of the wind,” Johnson said. “This helped me limit my frustration on the course and kept me positive.” 

Harkema said, despite the weather complicating the schedule and play, his Centurions team is set up to have a successful season that, hopefully, finishes with MCC at nationals. 

“Guys are really motivated for this little run we’re going on,” Harkema said. “Our goal is to always win. In the fall, we played really well, but we were expecting to be highly competitive this spring.” 

Ancilla is where the National Junior College Athletics Association’s finals will be held, thus Harkema’s team already has a taste of what to expect if, or as Harkema says, “when,” the team makes it. 

“It was really good to be able to see and play that course,” he said. “We’ve played two tough courses recently so that’s a great way to start the spring.” 

Johnson believes these last two wins have given his team the confidence boost it needs to ride out the rest of the season. 

“These last two wins feel incredible because we’ve all worked so hard to get to this point,” he said. “As a team, we are all wanting to make each other proud, and these wins are proof of the talent we’ve always believed in.” 

That confidence, along with the team’s talents, is why the team’s coaches believe this could be a special year for the Centurions golf program. 

“We’re only a second-year program and you had to recruit before you could play,” Harkema said. “Last year, we were competitive, but we were one score away from being a really good team.” 

Adding players like Clingenpeel and Mitchell, for example, Harkema says he believes the pieces are in place to make a good run this season. 

“We’re recruiting nationally now,” he said. “I feel like we put MCC’s name on the map. Right now, we have guys who are talented and who work hard, so I feel like we’re blessed. It’s a wonderful thing.”