By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
GOBLES—Talk about starting the season on a high note.
Hosting the Shamrock Invitational at Shamrock Hills Golf Club on Friday, Aug. 15, the Otsego girls golf team posted a team score of 357 to tie Harper Creek for top honors.
The Bulldogs officially took second place, as Harper Creek won the tiebreaker based on the score of each team’s fifth golfer.
But neither Otsego coach Michael Miller nor his players were overly upset about the runner-up finish, as the team score represented the best 18-hole finish in school history by six strokes.
Plainwell was also among the eight teams in the field, with the Trojans placing third at 385.
St. Joseph (fourth at 406), South Haven (fifth at 407), Vicksburg (sixth at 410), Zeeland East (seventh at 413) and Dowagiac (eighth at 417) followed.
Annika Quakenbush paced Otsego with an 82, which was second best among individuals behind Harper Creek’s Haley Willi at 77.
Avery Selent and Malania Miller joined Quakenbush in the top 10, with Selent third at 86 and Miller sixth at 90.
Alissa Holmes was Otsego’s final scoring golfer, placing 17th at 99.
Madden Fitzpatrick (43rd at 119), Channing Dobbs (50th at 129), Mila Garrett (53rd at 143) and Sara McCaw (55th at 150) also competed for the Bulldogs.
Emma Rayman secured a top-10 finish for Plainwell, carding a 90 to place sixth.
Sam Labonte (12th at 96), Harper Johnson (17th at 99) and Avery Powell (19th at 100) were the other scoring golfers for Plainwell. Lillian Youngs (36th at 115), Katherine Jepsen (36th at 115), Alison Taylor (41st at 118) and Sawyer Johnson (49th at 126) also competed.
