Otsego defends M-89 Challenge title

By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor

OTSEGO—In high school golf, it can be easy to overlook the fifth finisher on a team since the score is comprised of the top four finishers.
But in the case of a tie, the fifth golfer becomes extremely important.
Such was the case that this year’s edition of the M-89 Challenge at The Lynx Golf Course on Friday, May 2.
With two-time defending champion Otsego tied with Wayland at 318 at the conclusion of the 18 holes of play, this year’s winner came down to the performance of those team’s fifth golfers per tiebreaker rules.
And thanks to junior Karson Holladay’s score of 86, Otsego made it three straight M-89 Challenge titles.
Saugatuck was third at 324, followed by Hamilton (338), Plainwell (343) and Allegan (379).
Senior Landon Eastman paced Otsego with a 76, which was good for third place individually. Senior Jurian Shaffer was next for the Bulldogs at 78 (tied for fourth at 78), while senior Andrew Ballman and sophomore Owen Santman tied for ninth at 82.
Plainwell junior Drew Rayman secured medalist honors, shooting an even-par 72.
Senior Theo Oddy had a team-best 75 for Wayland to place second. Saugatuck freshman Grant Schrotenboer tied for fourth at 78, while Wayland senior Liam Barabas, Hamilton senior Grant Petroelje and Saugatuck junior Noah Conklin tied for sixth at 79.
Wayland juniors Jaden Osterhout and Shane Koon each shot an 82 to tie with Ballman and Santman for ninth.
On Wednesday, April 30, Otsego and Plainwell were involved in a pair of Wolverine Conference jamborees.
The Bulldogs and Trojans tied for second at the Plainwell-hosted jamboree at Lake Doster with a score of 166. Vicksburg won at 162.
Rayman tied Vicksburg’s Lincoln Taylor for medalist honors at 36. Also scoring for Plainwell were Reece Trahan (43), Gibson Youngs (43) and Sawyer McCall (44).
Shaffer and Eastman each shot a 41 for Otsego, followed by Santman and Holladay at 42 each.
Rayman was also medalist in the Three Rivers-hosted jamboree at Pineview, tying with Vicksburg’s Riley Briggs and Edwardsburg’s Ben Fish at 37.
Edwardsburg won the jamboree with a 160.
Jon Schmidtke (42), Cameron Larson (45) and McCall (45) also scored for Plainwell. Santman (39), Shaffer (40), Eastman (43) and Holladay (43) paced Otsego.