Purple Hornets boys clinch WestPAC
By PETER PIETRANGELO, DMG Sports EditorArticle Photos
Only clinching the title would satisfy Purple Hornets coach George Cram Jr.; he was on the good side of a last-meet comeback last year, coming back from four points down to tie for the title. L'Anse has a six-point edge over the Wykons.
"In high school golf, you never know what's going to happen," Cram said.
Greg Pirkola led the Purple Hornets with a 78, second place in the tournament behind West Iron County's Brandon Nocerini, who shot a 77. In what has been a common occurrence for the Purple Hornets, a different player steps up each week. Last week at Calumet it was Jaron McIntyre, who struggled Tuesday with a 95 and was scratched from the team score.
"We have so many kids, we have to do good in practice just to be on the team," Pirkola said. "And if we play bad, we force each other to do better the next day."
Pirkola tied with Hancock's Jordan Roy in second, but both played well on the back nine, scoring a meet-low 38. Pirkola birdied Nos. 13 and 18, while Roy bounced back after a sluggish start with a double-bogey on his second hole (No. 8).
"It seems it's more open," Pirkola said of the back nine. "There aren't as many out of bounds and a few shorter holes."
Houghton was third with a 340, followed by Calumet (341), West Iron County (351) and Ironwood (389).
Girls race down to the wire
Houghton moved into a tie with West Iron County in the WestPAC with a 436-437 win. Calumet was third (452) and is two points back in the race.
"It's going to come down to the last meet (Jack Sandretto)," Houghton girls coach Corey Markham said. "It's a nice advantage for us and Hancock on our own course."
The Jack Sandretto Invitational next Tuesday will be the season finale for both the WestPAC and the Copper Country Conference.
Hancock was fourth with 459 and L'Anse fifth with 518. Ironwood did not record a team score.
"We're very inexperienced," Markham said. "Not a lot of the girls have played regular golf. But they're good athletes and they're getting better every meet."
The race for the medal was not close, with the Wykons' Jaci Salonen beating teammate April Hibbard and Houghton's Taylor Kaurala by 10 strokes with a 91.
After an admittedly laughable round at Calumet last week, Salonen was glad to get her game back on track on the team's second 18-hole meet of the year.
"I putted really well today and kept the ball in play," she said, adding the wet greens aided her game by slowing down her long putts.
Calumet's Kristen Therrian was fourth with a 103, while Houghton's Ellyn Hurst and L'Anse's Samantha Lloyd were fifth.
Peter Pietrangelo can be reached at ppietrangelo@mininggazette.com
BOYS
L'ANSE (323) – Greg Pirkola 78, Matt Salli 81, Dan Sterbenz 81, Joey Kayramo 83. HANCOCK (333) – Jordan Roy 78, Dylan Peterson 83, Tanner Kero 85, Mitch Peterson 88. HOUGHTON (340) – JP Britz 79, Blake Hietala 86, Davy Sproule 86, Jake Kaarto 89. CALUMET (341) – Tony Stromer 83, Tyler Junttila 86, Greg Helminen 86, Nick Koskiniemi 86. WEST IRON COUNTY (351) – Brandon Nocerini 77, Todd Sabotta 90, Jake Donati 90, Kevin Fritsche 94. IRONWOOD (389) – Jake Ansami 87, Brett Johnson 94, Max Johnson 95, John Federico 113.
GIRLS
HOUGHTON (436) – Taylor Kaurala 101, Ellyn Hurst 105, Samantha Manderfield 110, Toria Stein 120. WEST IRON COUNTY (437) – Jaci Salonen 91, April Hibbard 101, Alyssa Camps 122, Sarah Fuller 123. CALUMET (452) – Kristen Therrian 103, Becca Tikkanen 112, Ariel Kargela 116, Lindsey Lassila 121. HANCOCK (459) – Samantha Henderson 107, Michelle Juopperi 111, Hailey Ohtonen 112, Lisa McMullen 129. L'ANSE (518) – Samantha Lloyd 105, Becca Mills 121, Jackie Collins 144, Katelyn Darey 148. IRONWOOD (NTS) – Erin Nelson 131, Rhana Campbell 134, Maria Fairfield 151.
