Let there be no doubt about it:
The Reeths-Puffer girls golf team is one of the state’s best this season, and R-P’s Sophia McCollum has cemented her spot among the top individual high school golfers in Michigan.
From a team perspective, the Rockets’ regular season results might have left some people wondering just how good they were. On the positive side, they won the Whitehall Invitational, Greater Muskegon Athletic Association tournament and their own Rocket Invitational.
But they also finished in second place in the O-K Green conference, which was a very good showing in a very tough league, but may not have suggested top statewide status for some.
The Rockets put all doubt to rest in the last two weeks, however, winning a Division 2 regional championship, then impressing everyone this weekend by finishing in fifth place out of 18 qualifying teams at the MHSAA Division 2 state finals at the Forest Akers West golf course at Michigan State University.
R-P senior Sophia McCollum, who finished third in the state.
The Rockets finished with a two-day team score of 721.|
They finished their first round on Friday with a score of 353 and stood in third place headed into Saturday.
R-P shot a 368 on Saturday to settle in at fifth place.
Forest Hills Central won the team state championship with a 642, followed by second-place South Lyon (687), Cranbrook Kingswood (713), Grand Rapids Christian (720) and R-P.
The top Rocket was McCollum, who tied for third place in the individual standings with a two-day score of 157. Fellow seniors Olivia Ambler and Ella Voorhies tied for 25th place, each shooting a 179, while junior Kayleigh Brown finished in 79th place with a 206.
R-P Senior Olivia Ambler
Freshman Tala Johnson shot for R-P on Saturday and scored a 129. Freshman Abby Davis shot on Friday and came in with a 116.
After watching his team win the regional title last week, R-P head coach Matt Pallett said he would be thrilled if his team finished in the top five in the state, after not qualifying for the finals last year – and the Rockets did exactly that.
“We slid back a bit today, but overall, looking at a top five finish, after never making the finals during my time coaching, I am very proud,” Pallett said.
“They handled the pressure very well. They bounced back from some tough situations and kept battling.
“When they look back someday, they are going to be very proud of themselves for what they accomplished, and for the lasting legacy they left with our program.”
R-P senior Ella Voorhies
McCollum was a big story all year long for the Rockets, after winning the Division 2 individual state championship last year, and competing for her second title in a row this season.
She had another great showing at the state finals, shooting a 79 in the first 18-hole round on Friday, then shooting a 78 on Saturday to tie for third place out of 108 golfers. She won an All-Tournament medal for finishing in the top 10.
The individual champion this year was Forest Hills Central’s Alivia Offer, who shot a two-day score of 149.
Just how good is McCollum? As Pallett noted, she did not have her best stuff in the finals, and still managed to finish third in the state.
“She has had a wonderful career, and ended on a very good note by playing very solid golf,” the coach said. “She did not have her A game, and still played very solid. I am very proud of her. She is a very good golfer.”
