Preps: State title trophy making the rounds with the Irish
By KEITH DUNLAP of The Oakland Press
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s boy golf team won the Division 2 state championship. From left are: Brendan Hanley, Matt Sheperd, Nick Shermetaro, Mike Klieman, Aaron Knutson and coach Marc White.
While the Red Wings hope to carry around the Stanley Cup again in Pittsburgh tonight, the Pontiac Notre Dame Prep boys golf team has been doing a nice impression with a trophy it just won.
On Saturday, Notre Dame Prep won the Division 2 state title, and the trophy has already made the rounds at respective graduation parties for a couple members of the team.
“They were taking the state trophy around to each kid’s party like it was the Stanley Cup,” Notre Dame Prep head coach Marc White said. “They were real celebrities.”
You can’t blame the Notre Dame Prep players for wanting to show off the trophy, because it was more than just the first boys golf state title in school history.
It was also the first time any boys athletic program at the school captured a state championship.
Matt Sheperd, Brendan Hanley, Nick Shermetaro and Mike Klieman are all seniors, while Aaron Knutson is a freshman who rounded out the topfive golfers for a team which finished three shots ahead of runner-up Haslett in the two-day finals at Grand Valley State.
White is a first-year coach, although he knew a lot of the players because he’s worked with them as a PGA teaching professional the last four years.
“I’ve been working with a lot of these boys since they were freshmen,” White said. “Did I think we could win a state championship? I didn’t think so. But there was always that possibility in my mind just because I knew the boys and all the hard work they put in the last four years.”
Notre Dame Prep shot a 316 on Friday’s first day and led by seven shots going into the second day. The Fighting Irish shot a 318 on the second day to hold off Haslett, which shot a 313 on Saturday.