Junior Will Preston has been named to the 2023 Boys Golf "Super Team" by the Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association (MIGCA) who met on Monday, June 19th at East Lansing High School.  Preston joins 7 other golfers on this elite team from across all 4 MHSAA Divisions.  Will was awarded All-State the past two years, finished in 2nd place during this year's Division III Finals (to teammate Matthew Sokorai) and was Medalist earlier this season during OK Gold Conference play.

Junior Matthew Sokorai has been named to the MHSAA Division III All-State Team after achieving All State Honorable Mention in 2022.  Sokorai was the Division III Medalist this year at the MHSAA Finals as the Cougars won their second State Championship in 3 years.

Adding to an extremely successful year, the team achieved Academic All-State, in addition to Senior Johnathon Meyer being honored with Individual Academic All-State.

GO COUGARS!!!

2023 All-State information:  migca.org/?Awards&view=2023+Boys+All-State

Pictures attached:

1. Team - 2023 Champions:  Head JV Coach Chad Bocian, Assistant Varsity Coach Andy Grile, Head Varsity Coach Kim Napieralski, Freshman Tommy Jandernoa, Freshman Charlie Maczka, Junior Matthew Sokorai, Junior Will Preston, Senior John Meyer, Junior Sebastian Deimel
2. Matthew Sokorai
3. Will Preston

As you all probably know by now, our CC Boys Varsity Golf Team was able to bring home our school's second Golf State Championship yesterday.  The "story" with additional details is below.  We really appreciate all of your support this season - we're extremely humbled and blessed to have been able to bring home another championship.

Also, we thought this would be worth mentioning.  We had several players from other schools, fellow coaches, and spectators (family members, etc.) mention to us throughout the 2 days how much they enjoyed the competition with our student athletes.  Senior Johnathon Meyer, Junior Will Preston, Junior Matthew Sokorai, Junior Sebastian Deimel, Freshman Tommy Jandernoa and Freshman Charlie Maczka all represented our golf program, our school, and our diocese very well during our time in East Lansing.  As Coaches, we were proud of how they handled themselves this weekend.

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After winning the OK Gold Conference and the MHSAA Regionals, the Catholic Central Varsity Boys Golf Team was able to bring home the school's second Golf State Championship this weekend at Michigan State University's Forest Akers West Golf Course.  5 players from 18 schools competed each day with the 4 lowest scores contributing to the overall team score.

At the conclusion of Day 1's competition, the Cougars were able to post the day's low team score of 306, 21 strokes better than Manistee and 23 ahead of Saginaw Swan Valley.  Pacing the CC attack was Matthew Sokorai with a 1 under par 71, followed closely by Will Preston with an even par 72.  Tommy Jandernoa (81), Johnathan Meyer (82) and Sebastian Deimel (85) were able to put together some impressive scores to help position the team well for the next day's competition.

Prior to Saturday's round, the team wasn't taking anything for granted.  Meeting on Friday night, everyone understood there was still a lot of work ahead - focus was essential if they were going to bring home another State Championship.  Saturday saw the team do just that - a strong, consistent effort from every player resulted in a team score of 308, bringing the two day total to 614, 35 strokes ahead of Lansing Catholic High School, resulting in the team's 2nd State Championship in 3 years.

Matthew Sokorai was able to improve on Friday's effort, finishing the second day with a 2 under par 70, taking Division 3 Individual Medalist honors with a two-day total of 141 (3 under par).  Second place went to Matthew's teammate and co-captain Will Preston who finished at 148, both leading the field of 113 golfers.  Johnathon Meyer carded an 80, bringing his two day total to 162, which resulted in a top 20 finish.  Charlie Maczka's 82 and Tommy Jandernoa's 86 were all that were needed for CC to win the Championship.

MHSAA story:  Top-Placing Pair Paces Grand Rapids Catholic Central Team Win | Michigan High School Athletic Association (mhsaa.com)

Fox 17 story:  GR Catholic Central, Christian bring home golf championships (fox17online.com)

Pictures:

• Division 3 Champions - Charlie Maczka, Johnathon Meyer, Tommy Jandernoa, Will Preston, Sebastian Deimel, and Matthew Sokorai
• Team 2023 Champions - JV Head Coach Chad Bocian, Varsity Assistant Coach Andy Grile, Varsity Head Coach Kim Napieralski, Tommy Jandernoa, Charlie Maczka, Matthew Sokorai, Will Preston, Johnathon Meyer, Sebastian Deimel
• Matthew Sokorai - Junior Matthew Sokorai watches his approach shot.
• Will Preston - Junior Will Preston watches his tee shot during Saturday's competition.
• J Meyer - Senior Johnathon Meyer intently watches his putt.
• Deimel - Junior Sebastian Deimel readies himself before putting on Day 1 at MSU.
• Tommy Jandernoa - Freshman Tommy Jandernoa watches his approach shot on hole #14 of Forest Akers West.
• Charlie - Freshman Charlie Maczka watches his tee shot during Saturday's competition.

2023 MHSAA Boys State Finals (photo credits: Kelsey Preston, Mrs. Jandernoa, and maybe 9 or 10 by Coach Grile)

5/31 (Wednesday)

The Catholic Central Boys Varsity Golf Team competed in the MHSAA Division 3 (Region 14) tournament today at The Falls at Barber Creek in Kent City.  90 golfers from 18 schools participated in this MHSAA Finals qualifier and the Cougars were able to come home with the victory, finishing with a score of 317, 19 strokes better than Grand Rapids Covenant Christian and 21 strokes ahead of West Catholic.  These 3 teams advanced to the MHSAA State Finals to be played on June 9th and 10th at the Forest Akers (West Course) at Michigan State University.

Junior Will Preston fired a 3 under par 69 to earn medalist honors, followed by Junior Matthew Sokorai who finished in a tie for 2nd place at even par 72.  Freshman Tommy Jandernoa finished in the top 10 with an 85, followed by Freshman Charlie Maczka (91) and Senior Johnathon Meyer (92).

CONGRATULATIONS guys and good luck at STATES!!!

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Pictures:

• CC Team:  Sebastsian Deimel, Will Preston, Matthew Sokorai, Tommy Jandernoa, Johnathon Meyer, and Charlie Maczka
• CC:  Assistant Coach Andy Grile, Sebastian Deimel, Will Preston, Matthew Sokorai, Tommy Jandernoa, Johnathon Meyer, Charlie Maczka, and Head Coach Kim Napieralski
• Preston:  Junior Will Preston sinks a putt.
• Sokorai:  Junior Matthew Sokorai tees off on the par 3 #13 at Barber Creek.

The Catholic Central boys varsity golf team wrapped up OK Gold Conference play on Wednesday 5/24 by winning the Conference Finals at LE Kaufman Golf Course with a team score of 312, 7 strokes ahead of Forest Hills Eastern.  Junior Will Preston was medalist shooting 4 under par 68 to lead the field of 45 golfers.  Junior Matthew Sokorai finished in second place with a 76, followed by Senior Johnanthon Meyer and Freshman Tommy Jandernoa both with 84's.  Freshman Charlie Maczka (93) and Junior Sebastian Deimel (95) rounded out the team's efforts that also solidified the Conference title for the Cougars with a season total 67 points, 10 points ahead of second place Forest Hills Eastern.

MHSAA Regionals are on tap next week Wednesday 5/30 at The Falls of Barber Creek in Kent City.  19 other schools will join CC for the 18 hole event with the top 3 finishing teams and the top 3 individuals (not included with team qualifiers) advancing to the MHSAA State Finals at MSU Akers West Golf Course Friday 6/9 and Saturday 6/10.

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PICTURES:

All Conference (CC golfers from left to right):  Honorable Mention Senior Johnathon Meyer & Freshman Tommy Jandernoa; All Conference Junior Matthew Sokorai & Junior Will Preston

CC Conference Champs (left to right): Freshman Charlie Maczka, Freshman Tommy Jandernoa, Junior Matthew Sokorai, Junior Will Preston, Senior Johnathon Meyer, Junior Sebastian Deimel

Conference Finals Top 10 (CC golfers from left to right):  Freshman Tommy Jandernoa, Senior Johnathon Meyer, Junior Matthew Sokorai, Junior Will Preston (medalist)

Team:  Head Coach Kim Napieralski, Freshman Charlie Maczka, Freshman Tommy Jandernoa, Junior Matthew Sokorai, Junior Will Preston, Senior Johnathon Meyer, Junior Sebastian Deimel, Assistant Coach Andy Grile

Johnathon Meyer:  Senior Johnathon Meyer tees off on Hole #1 as Head Coach Kim Napieralski and his playing partners watch his shot.

Tommy Jandernoa:  Freshman Tommy Jandernoa hits his tee shot on Hole #7 at LK Kaufman Golf Course.

Matthew Sokorai:  Junior Matthew Sokorai hits a shot from the rough on Hole #7.

William Preston:  Junior Will Preston watches his tee shot on #7.

On Monday May 15th the Varsity Boys Golf Team traveled to Muskegon Country Club to compete in the Mona Shores Invitational.  The Cougars finished in 2nd place behind Grand Rapids Christian with Junior Will Preston carding a 3 over par 75, good enough for a 2nd place tie.  Junior Matthew Sokorai (80), Junior Sebastian Deimel (85), Freshman Tommy Jandernoa (86), Freshman Charlie Maczka (89) and Senior Johnathon Meyer (91) also competed in the 18-hole event.

Tuesday the team competed in two 9-hole conference jamborees.  In the morning round, Will Preston carded an impressive 6-under par 29 on the par 35 East Nine at Orchard Hills Golf Course.  Preston's score was 5 shots better than 2nd place and helped lead the team to a first-place finish.  Matthew Sokorai fired a 1 over par 36, followed by Sebastian Deimel (38), Tommy Jandernoa (39), Johnathon Meyer (42) and Charlie Maczka (43).

The second jamboree on Tuesday at Yankee Springs Golf Course saw the team finish again in 1st place with Matthew Sokorai leading the effort with a 1 under par 35, followed by Tommy Jandernoa (37), Sebastian Deimel (39), Will Preston (40), Charlie Maczka (42) and Johnathan Meyer (42).

Thursday the boys traveled to Indian Trails GC and finished regular season conference play with a 2nd place finish.  Will Preston tied for 1st place with an even par 33.  

The week concluded in Big Rapids at the Ferris State University Katke Golf Course where the team competed in a 2-day, 36 hole event.  In the end, the Cougars came out on top with a score of 625 (311/314), beating out 15 other schools who competed both days.  Earning medalist honors for the 2-day event was Will Preston with a 4 under par 140 (73/67).  Also finishing in the top 10 were Matthew Sokorai (4th place; 72/78) and Tommy Jandernoa (9th place; 78/80).  Sebastian Deimel, Charlie Maczka, Johnathan Meyer, and Zach Westrick also helped to bring home the overall team victory for CC.

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Pictures:

W Preston - Junior Will Preston sinks a birdie putt on his final hole to win Medalist honors at Katke Golf Course, shooting a final round 67 (5 under par).

Katke - Freshman Charlie Maczka, Senior Johnathon Meyer, Junior Will Preston, Junior Matthew Sokorai, Freshman Tommy Jandernoa, Junior Sebastian Deimel

It has been a relatively quiet couple weeks that included a postponed jamboree due to bad weather, but that will change quickly next week for the CC varsity boys golf team as we draw closer to Conference Finals and MHSAA competition.

The annual Pope Cup occurred last weekend between West Catholic and Catholic Central at The Mines golf course - an event that started in 1999 between the two schools.  Prior to the scrimmage, families, players and coaches celebrated Mass at Holy Spirit.  CC retained the Pope Cup with an overall score of 10-2.  The scrimmage is set up similar to the PGA Ryder Cup, with individual, alternate shot, best ball and scramble competitions determining the winning team's overall score.  Each two person match is played with an outright win resulting in 2 points and 1 point for each team in the event of a tie.

On Tuesday May 9th, CC traveled to Gracewil Country Club to compete in an OK Gold Jamboree.  Junior Will Preston finished as the event's medalist with an even par 36.  The team outpaced 2nd place South Christian finishing at 154, 7 strokes ahead of the Sailors.  All 6 of the CC golfers finished in the top 10 with Junior Sebastian Deimel finishing in 2nd place with a 38, followed by Freshman Charlie Maczka (39), Junior Matthew Sokorai (41), Freshman Tommy Jandernoa (41), and Senior Johnanthon Meyer (41).  The win at Gracewil kept the CC team on top of the conference standings with 26 points, followed by South Christian with 23 and Forest Hills Eastern at 21.

Thursday May 11th had the team playing at Cedar Chase Golf Course in Cedar Springs.  The Cougars again came out victorious with a team total of 156 with Junior Matthew Sokorai finishing as the event medalist with an even par 36.  Freshman Charlie Maczka carded a 38 with Senior Johnathon Meyer one shot back at 39.  Freshman Tommy Jandernoa finished with a 43 with Junior Sebastian Deimel at 45 and Junior Trent Goheen at 49.

Next week includes an 18 hole invitational at Muskegon Country Club on Monday, two Conference Jamborees on Tuesday at Wayland and Thornapple Kellogg, a Conference Jamboree at Indian Trails GC on Thursday, and a two day invitational at Katke Golf Course at Ferris State University starting on Friday. 

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Pictures:

Pic 1:  WC & CC - caddies, players and coaches from both schools.

Pic 2:  The Pope Cup - West Catholic Head Coach Dan Karamol and Catholic Central Head Coach Kim Napieralski

Pic 3:  CC - Assistant Coach Andy Grile, Joseph Meyer, Johnathon Meyer, Elizabeth Deimel, Sebastian Deimel, Dean Armock, Tommy Jandernoa, Will Preston, Luke Preston, Zach Westrick, Head Varsity Boys Basketball Coach TJ Meerman, Matthew Sokorai, Matt Maczka, Charlie Maczka, and Head Coach Kim Napieralski

A busy week began on Monday, April 24th, with the CC Boys Golf Team traveling to Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills to compete in the Next Tee Invitational.  This 18 hole event was played in cold and blustery conditions on the North Course with 27 schools from across the lower peninsula competing.

At the end of the day, Junior Will Preston was the event's medalist, carding a 2 under par 70, outpacing second place by 2 strokes. As a team the Cougars just missed a top 5 finish by 4 strokes, finishing at 314 in a field comprised of some of the top ranked teams in the state, including Brighton, Brother Rice, Northville, and Detroit Catholic Central.  Preston was followed by solid performances from Junior Matthew Sokorai (78), Freshman Tommy Jandernoa (82), Senior Johnathon Meyer (86) and Freshman Charlie Maczka (88).

While these varsity golfers were competing on the east side of the state, the rest of the team (along with a couple players from the JV team) competed in the Conference Jamboree at Railside Country Club.  Junior Sebastian Deimel finished with a 42, followed by Senior Ryan Waite, Junior Trent Goheen, Junior Zach Westrick, Sophomore Hank Wilson and Sophomore Liam TenHarmsel.  The team finished in second place and this strong showing was able to maintain CC's lead in conference play.

Thursday the team joined 23 other teams and traveled to Bedford Valley Golf Course to participate in the 18 hole Tom Collins Memorial Invitational.  Following up on his strong performance at Oakland Hills CC, Will Preston again was the medalist ending the day with an even par 72.  As a team, the Cougars were able to put together another strong performance, finishing in 5th place.  Other CC golfers competing included Matthew Sokorai, Tommy Jandernoa, Sebastian Deimel, and Charlie Maczka.

The week's competition concluded in Grand Haven on Friday, April 28th, with CC competing in The Corporal B Invitational at American Dunes.  This event was a special one as each team honored an American Hero from their community or school with CC honoring retired Colonel Michael Neuman (CC '63).  Neuman graduated from West Point in 1967 and retired from military service in 1994, a career that included deployment in Vietnam and time at The Pentagon.  After his retirement, Mr. Neuman served as the CC Athletic Director until 2008.  We were blessed to have Mr. Neuman with the team at American Dunes to meet the players and wish them well before competition.

The Cougars finished in 5th place out of 18 teams only 8 strokes out of first place, with a team total of 308.  Will Preston (73) and Matthew Sokorai (74) both finished in the top 10, with Tommy Jandernoa (78), Johnathon Meyer (83) and Charlie Maczka (85) rounding out an excellent team performance.

1. Picture "A":  Medalist Will Preston, second from the right, with other competitors who finished in the Top 10 at Oakland Hills CC on 4/24, along with Matt Dossey, General Manager of Oakland Hills CC. 

 2. Picture "B":  Head Coach Kim Napieralski, Junior Matthew Sokorai, Junior Will Preston, Senior Johnathon Meyer, Freshman Tommy Jandernoa, Freshman Charlie Maczka, and Assistant Coach Andy Grile after the Oakland Hills CC event.

3.  Picture "C":  Medalist Will Preston after the Tom Collins Memorial Invitational at Bedford Valley on 4/27.

4.  Picture "D":  Junior Will Preston, Senior Johnathon Meyer, Freshman Charlie Maczka, Freshman Tommy Jandernoa, and Junior Matthew Sokorai at American Dunes

5.  Picture "E":  Head Coach Kim Napieralski with our CC American Hero, Mike Neumann, at American Dunes.'

The first week of OK Gold conference play began this past Tuesday with the Cougars winning the Forest Hills Eastern jamboree at Egypt Valley Country Club.  Teams played the front 9 of the Valley Course with the Cougars finishing ahead of FHE by 2 strokes at 157.  Conference play involves 6 golfers competing with the 4 lowest scores counting toward the final team results.  Juniors Matthew Sokorai and Will Preston tied for first place with a 2 over par 38.  Freshman Charlie Maczka carded a 40, followed by Senior Johnathon Meyer with a 41, Freshman Tommy Jandernoa at 42, and Junior Sebastian Deimel with 45.

Thursday's conference jamboree shifted to CC's home course of Quail Ridge and in what appears to be foreshadowing for the rest of the conference schedule, FHE and CC were again extremely close throughout the round with both coming in at 154.  In order to break the tie, the score of the 5th golfer was utilized and in this case, FHE ended up with a 2 stroke victory over the Cougars.  Matthew Sokorai finished as the medalist with a 1 over par 37.  Sokorai was followed by Tommy Jandernoa, Charlie Maczka, Will Preston, Johnathon Meyer and Sebastian Deimel.

Next week will be a very busy one for the CC golfers with 4 events scheduled.  Monday 5 Varsity team members travel to Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills for the Next Tee Invitational.  CC will compete against 28 other teams from throughout Michigan on the Oakland Hills North Course.  The remainder of the Varsity golfers will participate in the OK Gold Jamboree at Railside Country Club hosted by GR South Christian.

Thursday the team will compete in the Tom Collins Memorial Invitational at Bedford Valley Golf Course, an 18 hole event with 5 golfers traveling to the Battle Creek golf course.

Friday will be a very special day as Catholic Central participates in the 2nd annual Corporal B Boy's High School Golf Invitational at American Dunes in Grand Haven.  The event includes honoring an American Hero from each school / community.  During last year's event, CC honored PFC Nicholas Blodgett, a Catholic Central graduate who died in 2004 in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.  This year we will honor retired Colonel Michael Neuman, a 1963 graduate of Catholic Central.  Colonel Neuman served in the US Army until 1994.  His service included deployment to Vietnam and time at the Pentagon in Washington DC.  Neuman also served as Athletic Director at Catholic Central until 2008.

Pictures:

A - Senior Johnathon Meyer hits an approach shot on the 3rd hole at Quail Ridge Golf Course.

B - Freshman Tommy Jandernoa watches his chip shot to the 3rd green at Quail Ridge.

C - Junior Matthew Sokorai watches his putt on the 6th hole at Quail Ridge.

The 2023 varsity boys golf season kicked off this week with two 18 hole tournaments.  The first was the Forest Hills Invitational at Egypt Valley Country Club on Monday, April 10th.  113 golfers on 23 different teams competed in this annual event and the Cougars ended up with a very respectable 2nd place finish behind Grand Rapids Christian.  Junior Will Preston paced the Cougar team with a 1 over par 73, which was good enough for a tie in second place.  Junior Matthew Sokorai finished the day in 8th place with a 76, followed by Freshman Charlie Maczka (81), Freshman Tommy Jandernoa (86) and Senior John Meyer (92).

On Thursday, April 13th, the Kent County Classic was held at Thornapple Pointe Golf Course with 16 teams competing on a course that was setup at over 7,000 yards.  The CC boys finished in 5th place with Will Preston finishing in a tie for second with a 4 over par 76.  Matthew Sokoria (79), Tommy Jandernoa (87), John Meyer (90) and Junior Sebastian Deimel (90) rounded out the team's performance.

Next week begins Conference play with the Forest Hills Eastern jamboree at Egypt Valley Country Club on Tuesday (4/18), followed by the Catholic Central jamboree at Quail Ridge GC on Thursday (4/20).

Pictures attached:

1. GRCC 2nd Place - EVCC (pictured:  Andy Grile, Asst. Varsity Coach, Charlie Maczka (Fr), John Meyer (Sr), Matthew Sokorai (Jr), Will Preston (Jr), Tommy Jandernoa (Fr) and Kim Napieralski, Head Varsity Coach)
2. Napieralski Preston Jandernoa Meyer (pictured:  Head Varsity Coach Kim Napieralski, Will Preston & Tommy Jandernoa watch John Meyer tee off at Egypt Valley CC)
3. Matthew Will (pictured:  Matthew Sokorai watches Will Preston hit his tee shot on a par 3 at Egypt Valley CC)
4. Maczka (pictured:  Charlie Maczka with an approach shot at Egypt Valley CC)
5. Deimel (pictured:  Sebastian Deimel (Jr) with an approach shot at Thornapple Pointe GC)

IT'S A GREAT DAY TO BE A COUGAR!!

(Picture of the winners and runners up includes:  Head Coach Kim Napieralski, Tom VanBennekom, Craig McGoffin, Corey Tingley, Ed Napieralski, Asst. Coach Andy Grile)

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A sincere thank you to everyone associated with this year's Cougar Toss Fore Golf event held at The CAT this past weekend.  We had a great turnout, but more importantly, the show of support for our student athletes was simply incredible and we can't thank you enough for all you have done over the years.

Over 80 participants competed in the double elimination event and in the end, the team of Ed Napieralski and Corey Tingley came out victorious, outlasting newcomers Tom VanBennekom and Craig McGoffin.  A great night of community and fellowship to celebrate the last two seasons of Cougar Golf that included:

MHSAA State Finals 5th place finish for the CC girls golf team and a 2nd place finish for the boys team.
MHSAA Academic All State for both teams.
All State recognition (including honorable mention) for the following:  Ava Wisinski, Kelsey Preston, Will Preston and Matthew Sokorai

All Conference recognition (including honorable mention) for the following:  Ava Wisinski, Kelsey Preston, Morgan Armock, Katie Cook, Will Preston, Matthew Sokorai, Luke Preston, and John Harmon

Thank you for all of your support!