By Staff
DOWAGIAC – Senior Nick Krizinski of Dowagiac had to work a little overtime to earn a trip to the Division 3 state golf finals.
Krizinski tapped in a putt for a par on the fifth playoff hole to qualify as an individual.
Kalamazoo Christian won the regional championship with a score of 309. Schoolcraft and Kalamazoo Hackett also qualified for the state finals by finishing second and third with team scores of 313 and 318 respectively.
Parchment also finished with a 318, but lost the fifth man tiebreaker. Otsego finished fifth and Dowagiac sixth.
The Chieftains, led by Krizinski's 77, finished with a 332.
The top three teams advance to the finals and the top three individuals move on as well who are not on a qualifying team.
Portland's Craig Seekamp won medalist honors with a one-under par 71. Jon Frantz of Grand Rapids West Catholic shot 76 to advance, while Krizinski, Constantine's Spen-cer Kayler and Otsego's Jay Cook all finished with a 77 to force a playoff.
Kayler was eliminated on the first playoff hole, but Krizinski and Cook slugged it out for four more holes.
Finally, on the fifth playoff hole, Krizinski's drive landed to the left of the green where he hit a perfect chip to within six inches of the hole.
Cook hit the green with his drive, but putted the ball well past the hole on his second shot. Cook then missed his second putt leaving Krizinski needing only to tap it in to win the playoff.
"I couldn't do it in the pros," Krizinski said of the pressure of the playoff and playing in front of a crowd. "What were there, 15 people? I was surprised I could hit the ball my hands were so bad."
Besides Krizinski's score, Dowagiac also got a 83 from Chris Craft, a 84 from Max Howe, a 88 from Kevin Proshwitz and a 93 from Kyle Ward.
Craft, Howe and Ward are all freshmen.
Brandywine's Chris Rose and Dillon Bailey shot 82 and 86 respectively, while Buchanan's Adam Houin shot 89.
The state finals will be played June 6-7 at Michigan State's Forest Akers East Course.
Division 3 Regional
Golf Tournament
At Hampshire Country Club
Team Scores
Kalamazoo Christian 309, Schoolcraft 313, Kalamazoo Hackett 318, Parchment 318, Otsego 321, Dowagiac 332, Grand Rapids West Catholic 332, Coloma 335, Portland 346, Grandville Calvin Christian 358, Belding 364, Allendale 371
Medalist
Craig Seekamp (Portland) 71
Qualifying Team Results
Kalamazoo Christian 309
Jacob Rykse 73, Austin Vandermeer 76, David Sarkipato 79, Trenton Stapert 81, Josh Rykse 85
Schoolcraft 313
Patrick Werme 77, Mike Prior 75, Tanner Sommerfeld 79, Keith Alrick 82, Andrew Fitzstephens 82
Kalamazoo Hackett 318
Sheldon Keyte 80, Jon Christ 76, Henrik Blix 79, Andy Christ 83, Jack Rider 83
Additional Qualifiers
Derek Roe (Portland) 71, Jon Frantz (GR West Catholic) 76, Nick Krizinski (Dowagiac) 77 – won three player playoff Kevin Proshwitz 88, Kyle Ward 93
Brandywine
Chris Rose 82, Dillon Bailey 86
Buchanan
Adam Houin 89
Berrien Springs
Drew Teed 91, Matt Shull 85
Coloma 335
Patrick Brinnehl 80, Alex Johnson 83, Chad Herman 83, Jarrod Hauch 89, Travis Steinhoff 96