Nevermind the fact that Montague brought a relatively inexperienced group into this girls golf season.
Seasoned junior Mackenzie Goudreau and her Wildcats team appear to be playing their best golf at the right time. At the very least, the two-time Division 4 defending state champions are trending in the right direction as state tournament play fast approaches.
Goudreau broke her own school record by shooting a 3-over 75 en route to winning the 2022 Greater Muskegon Athletic Association girls golf tournament Wednesday at Stonegate Golf Club in Twin Lake. Her effort set the tone for Montague, which captured a third straight GMAA championship with a season-low team score of 361.
Mona Shores was runner-up at 388, followed by Whitehall (395), North Muskegon (419), Fruitport (435), Oakridge (449), Holton (472) and Western Michigan Christian (515).
“Just an incredible, major accomplishment for Mackenzie,” Montague coach Phil Kerr said about Goudreau, an all-stater who has been a key to the Wildcats winning two straight state titles.
Goudreau broke the school record last September with the 77 she shot at Old Channel Trail. In Wednesday’s GMAA tourney, she played well from the start.
“She came out today and just took this thing. She birdied her first hole, shot 36 on the front nine and never looked back,” Kerr said. “The list of city champions is a short list of incredible golfers and a who’s who in Muskegon’s rich golf history. She deserves this honor. Couldn’t be more proud of her.”
Montague had three top-10 finishers, also including senior Natalie Kellogg in third with an 83 and senior Brooke Berry eighth with 99.
Reeths-Puffer junior Paige Anderson was runner-up with an 80. Mona Shores sophomore Mayson Southland placed fourth (84), Whitehall junior Ava Garcia fifth (85), Reeths-Puffer sophomore Rowan Bluhm sixth (94), and Whitehall senior Lizbeth Bentz seventh (98). Holton sophomore Karley Plekes and Mona Shores junior Maddie Etterman tied for ninth (100).
“Can’t say enough about my leaders, Mack and Nat,” Kerr said. “They have played some incredible golf this year and their 75-83 they shot today is the best one-two combo score in program history. They’ve been preaching to the newbies all year that this team can be great, too, and I think they’re starting to believe.”
Montague will open defense of its back-to-back Division 4 state titles with the regional tournament Tuesday, Oct. 4, at Moss Ridge Golf Course in Ravenna.
That still leaves a little time for the Wildcats to sharpen their game even more, but Kerr is encouraged by how far the group has come already.
“Man, this one feels good, I’m not gonna lie,” he said. “Three city championships in a row is never something I imagined this program accomplishing. And to do it with a new set of girls really is gratifying.
“Lauren (Smith) and Brooke (Berry) and Abby (Woller) have all been working for years to get a chance to play in one of these (GMAA tourneys) and to win one, and to keep this tradition going is such a cool thing for them.”
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