The MHSAA Girls Division 1 Regionals tournament, played at Salem Hills Golf Course in Northville, Mich., determined the three teams representing Region 2 at the MHSAA State finals. On Oct. 9, 12 high schools competed, including Pioneer High School, where CHS junior, Kyra Kahana, plays golf.
“It was a very cold day,” Kahana said. “Everyone was tight and it took a little while to get people loosened up.”
Another team going up against the Pioneers for a bid to the state tournament was Skyline High School (SHS). CHS senior Ali O’Brien, who plays for SHS had a rough day on the course.
“Mentally I was in a good state,” O’Brien said. “Score wise however, I could have tightened a few things up. It didn’t go fantastic for me, this being my last high school tournament.”
With all the scores tallied up, the three teams advancing to the State Championship were announced: Brighton took first place with a score of 322; Plymouth snagged second with a 329; and a score of 339 gave Northville the final spot.
Behind Northville, was South Lyon with a 348 and Pioneer with a 350. SHS and Huron High School (HHS) tied for 8th place with a team total of 369.
In addition to the three teams moving on to states, the top three individual scorers at the tournament also advanced to the state tournament.
Saline High School’s Grace Celso, Senior Reva Patchava from Skyline and Kaylyn Wisniewski from South Lyon secured the top three individual spots with scores of 77, 81, and 81 respectively. Kahana shot an 82 and missed advancing as an individual by one stroke.
“It was a bittersweet feeling,” Kahana said. “Of course I wanted to make it to states but I would have wanted to make it with my whole team. So, I think if I would have made it individually I would have been a little heartbroken, especially having seniors on my team not being able to play in states their senior year. At the same time it would have been a great opportunity to play at Michigan State University. The whole day was just a range of emotions.”
With this being O’Brien’s last high school tournament, she woke up with high hopes of qualifying. The realization that her season had come to an end didn’t hit O’Brien until hours after the tournament.
“To be honest, it didn’t really sink in for me at the golf course but then when I got home, and I sat on my couch, I was like, ‘wow, that was my last run’,” O’Brien said. “And then in my head I started to think about all the stuff I did wrong. But in the long run, I had a great season and I am really happy about how it ended.”
Brighton, Plymouth, Northville and the three individual qualifiers will compete at MSU’s Forest Akers Golf Course on Oct. 20 and 21 with one goal in mind: to bring home the State Championship.
