Austin Hemmingson/Daily Press (Escanaba) The Houghton golf team is pictured together after winning the Division 1 boys U.P. golf finals at the Escanaba Country Club in Escanaba Wednesday.

ESCANABA — Gladstone senior Rudy Peterson sizzled on the front nine Wednesday, retaining his Upper Peninsula Division 1 golf title with an even-par 71 strokes.

Peterson fired a 2-under-par 34 in front, then overcame bogeys on No. 15 and 16 to shoot 37 on the back nine at the Escanaba Country Club.

“I played very well on the front nine, then I struggled a little in back,” said Peterson, who is headed for Michigan State this fall. “Playing aggressive in the front helped a lot, then I played a little too conservative in back.

“I felt a little more pressure coming in as defending U.P. champion, but just played my game. I figured if I won, fine. If I didn’t win, it wasn’t the end of the world. I won’t be playing golf in college. I just plan to keep playing it for fun.”

Houghton was crowned team champion for the first time in three years at 321, followed by Marquette 323 and two-time defending champ Esky 325.

The marked the fifth title in eight years for the Gremlins, who won the three previous years and in 2012.

“We had a real solid day,” said Houghton coach Corey Markham. “Our No. 1 golfer had a real solid round and other guys lowered their scores. This was our best score of the season and we couldn’t ask for a better day for it. The day started calm, then the wind picked up about halfway through the tournament. The back nine was real wet, but the kids battled through it and had a great round.”

Houghton junior Jiseung Choi earned runner-up honors at 74, followed by Marquette sophomore Joe Luke and Esky senior Nathan Rousseau at 78 and Iron Mountain’s Ricky Brown’s 79.

“My approach shots were a challenge with the wind,” he said. “The wind carried the ball a little, but I just tried to keep myself focused. It feels great to win as a team. It’s really fun.”

Marquette and Esky also recorded season-best scores on the sunny and windy afternoon.

“We knew the number would have to be around 320, but we couldn’t quite get there,” said Marquette coach Ben Smith. “Houghton shot a real good score and Escanaba was right there. It took a few tournaments to get into a groove, then we won five in a row coming in here. The three seniors we’re losing have been real solid the last four years and our sophomore shot a real solid round today.”

Esky assistant coach Jake Berlinski was pleased with the leadership provided by Rousseau this season.

“Nathan had an outstanding year and career,” he said. “Kids like him just don’t come around all the time. He’s a golf fanatic. We’re going to miss him.

“We return the other four. Hopefully, third place will motivate them. The way Brian (Robinette) coaches is second to none. We’ll be back next year.”

Gladstone placed fifth at 363 and Manistique and Ironwood shared 11th with 409.

“Rudy was actually 2-under-par, then he bogied those two holes,” said Gladstone coach Dane Quigley. “The wind was swirling out there, which made things a little challenging. Our team score was a little high. We struggled a little.”

Area teams conclude their season with the Esky Invitational Monday at ECC.

U.P. D-1 Boys’ Golf Finals

At Escanaba Country Club

Top five — 1, Rudy Peterson, Gladstone, 71; 2, Jiseung Choi, Houghton, 74; 3, Joe Luke, Marquette and Nathan Rousseau, Escanaba, 78 (tie); 5, Ricky Brown, Iron Mountain, 79..

Houghton (321) — Choi 74, Avery Markham 80, Brady Schmierer 83, Ryan Vlahos 84.

Marquette (323) — Luke 78, Tyler Bergwall and Ethan Sellers 80, Jordan Jurmu and Karsten Kamps 85.

Escanaba (325) — Rousseau 78, Jadan Gravelle 80, Brett McDonough 81, Kolby Stenfors 86.

Calumet (354) — Landon Johnson 80, Lowell Torota 87, Trevor Torota 92, Andrew Eskola and Kip Kangas 95.

Gladstone (363) — Peterson 71, Cam Ballard 84, Bryce Cooper 99, Teddy Wery 109.

Menominee (369) — Andrew MacIntyre 81, Brady Badker 88, Cooper Conway 99, Joe Haire 101.

Kingsford (381) — Matt Solda 84, Gavin Londo 93, Dan Maki and Zach Smith 103.

Negaunee (390) — Keegan Erva 88, Luke Stenfors 97, Nolan Corwin 101, Jackson Gladwell 104.

Iron Mountain (394) — Brown 79, Eli Lofholm 98. Nick Opolka 119, Zach Erickson 127, Marcus Johnson NA.

Westwood (402) — Tylar Annala 89, Dylan Junak 96, Colin Bjorne 103, Justin Richards and Gavin Dawson 114.

Manistique (409) — Alex Oas 96, Mitch Green 103, Cameron Whiskin 105, Jerry Jack 106.

Ironwood (409) — Ethan Roehm 86, Austin Trier 102, Dillon Makela 109, John Holm 112.

L’Anse (NTS) — Cater Koskinen 91, John Mantilla 109, Christian Brown 130.