Golf: Wildcats girls earn first BNC crown in school history
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ACME -- The Alpena High School girls' golf team won the Big North Conference championship Thursday at The Spruce Run at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, shooting 394 to take the title.
Alpena and Traverse City West arrived even in the conference standings. The Wildcats left with the championship, the first in the history of the Alpena girls' golf program, coach Courtney Nunneley said.
Grace Bouchard, Carli Susewitz, Hannah Brownridge, and Sammi Silver also earned all-conference honors.
"This wouldn't have been possible without Grace Bouchard, Carli Susewitz, Hannah Brownridge and Sammi Silver, Claire Kinzey, and Caroline Robertson," Nunneley said. "They have all worked so hard to improve this year."
The win capped a season in which Alpena had already collected multiple tournament titles and steadily lowered its scores. A week earlier, the Wildcats won the Cadillac Invitational with a 374 and finished the day tied with Traverse City West, setting up Thursday's championship as the decider. Regionals are scheduled for Monday.
Nunneley credited the group that competed and the teammate who could not. Caroline Robertson did not play Thursday, but the coach said her influence showed up in the final score.
"Caroline, even though she wasn't able to come today, has a huge impact on the team and is one of the reasons we were able to win the BNC," Nunneley said.
Bouchard, the team captain, has been the program's most consistent scorer. She led Alpena with an 86 and finished second individually at the Cadillac Invitational.
"Grace has been not only a great golfer but an amazing captain that has led us to these amazing achievements," Nunneley said.
Kinzey, in her third year in the sport, has climbed into the varsity lineup as the season has gone on.
"Claire, who has only been playing for three years, is showing us that if you put the work in, you can play at an elite level," Nunneley said.
Nunneley described Susewitz as the player who treats every practice as unfinished business.