Wildcats Move To State Finals; Rocks Fall Just Short

The conditions were tough—the course even more difficult.

That said, played well enough in the regional round of the Division 1 boys golf playoffs to advance, thanks to a combined team score of 330, at the University of Michigan Golf Course on Thursday.

, however, narrowly missed advancing, shooting a team score of 333—just three shots off the qualifying mark.

“The course was great,” Wildcats coach Chris Moore said. “It was playing really tough, with the conditions and the pins where they were at, but overall it was a great experience.”

Regionals medalist Evan Bowser, who finished the event with a 73, agreed.

“The wind was really tough,” Bowser, a Dearborn High School junior, said. 

“It was a very tough course today,” Salem coach Ryan Nimmerguth said. “This course will really challenge you mentally. These kids look at it and they say it’s not too long, but the course has big-time undulations and the greens are really tough. So, it becomes more of a mind game when you make a couple of bogeys, then try and keep your focus.”

Salem was paced by Josh Perrin’s 79, while teammates Eric Duprey (82), Brian Patterson (84), Brandon Duprey (88) and Nick Danis (92) were solid contributors not only at regionals but all season long.

“It was a good year for us,” Nimmerguth said. “It’s always our goal to move on as a team from districts, anything after that is gravy. It was good to meet our goal this year. If we could’ve gotten out of here and moved on, that would’ve been great. But, if not, that’s okay.”

The Wildcats were able to move on, and will tee it up next week at Katke-Cousins Golf Course on the campus of Oakland University for a shot at a Division 1 state championship.

“We had higher hopes for today, honestly,” Moore said. “But we got through, and that was the goal.”

Plymouth’s consitency was key Thursday, with John Heinze (80), Justin Bauer (82), Ryan Rieckhoff (83), Kyle Rodes (85) and John Tatti (86) all posting excellent scores at regionals.