Sturgis golf team looking forward to regional round

STURGIS — The Sturgis golf program is pretty happy about winning a conference championship this year.

But as much joy as that brought the team, they still have higher aspirations for next week. Sturgis will compete in the Division 2, Regional 9 tournament. It's not an easy one as several of the teams competing at the event have solid squads. The tournament is being played at Point O' Woods Country Club in Benton Harbor.

Yet, despite understanding it will take a good team effort, the Trojans are looking forward to it.

"We have some good teams in our regional, but we are a vibe team and hopefully we will have a good feeling on Tuesday morning," senior Citori Kosmerick said. "It's been a great year to this point, but we want to keep playing well."

Sturgis recorded its sixth conference championship in the past nine years last week. Under head coach Ken Schau, no four-year senior player has gone without being a part of a conference championship winning team.

This year, the Trojans have played steadily despite having a tough non-conference schedule. Schau and the Trojan program know that in order to end the year successfully, competing at the state finals, playing tough competition throughout the year is a must.

"I would say that it's gone like we have wanted it to so far. We've got a couple of girls who put in the work in the summertime and it was great to see that pay off," Schau said. "It's been consistent. We've had that 'I've got your back' philosophy this year and it's worked out really nice."

Junior Maddy Webb helped lead the Trojans to a Wolverine Conference title last week. She shot a personal-best score of 78 at Pineview Golf Club, where the championships were held, and that allowed Sturgis to come in with a team score of 352.

That was the second-best 18-hole score in the history of Sturgis golf.

"He had always been telling us on how he wanted this year's championship so bad," Webb said. "At first we didn't realize why, but we kept listening to him and it makes sense. He showed us how important it was and how we should take it seriously. It's a big thing."

The Trojans have six players, — Kosmerick, Webb, Aspen Hyska, Hannah Falkenstein, Piper Sterling and Mia Martinez — but only five will get to tee it up at the regional. Schau admitted he did not have a lineup set during practice on Tuesday at Klinger Lake County Club, but that they would figure it out. Then, on Wednesday, the Trojans were able to play Point O' Woods in a pre-regional practice round.

Sturgis has missed the state finals each of the past few seasons. This year, the Trojans are looking to make it back to Forest Akers West on the campus of Michigan State University.

"The emphasis this year has been on our strengths and weaknesses and I think we have done a good job at both," Schau said. "We'll be ready, we will be prepared. No matter what happens, we're gonna leave the course that day knowing we prepared ourselves to the best of our abilities."

Sturgis has been well prepared all season. They've been able to utilize Cedar Lake Golf Course in Howe, Ind., plus Island Hills Golf Course in Centreville and Klinger Lake for different areas of improvement throughout the year.

Both Kosmerick and Webb said the mental part of golf has improved for them as well. Each got in quite a bit of work during the summer tours around Michigan and it helped them become better golfers.

"Getting past the mental block was good," Kosmerick said. "It's certainly helped me become better all-around."

There will be some nerves. But in the end, Sturgis knows that it will not be competing on Tuesday against the other teams on the course. They will be competing against the course itself and the final scores will be what they are going to be. Schau and this group of Trojan student-athletes are proud of what they have accomplished this season to date, but they're not ready for it to end just yet.

It will take a day of solid golf from the five who will tee it up officially. MHSAA regional tournaments use the top four scores from each qualifying team to have a team score.

"Yeah, you can get nervous and get in your head, but my golf game has matured a lot," Webb said. "I think the mental part of my game has gotten a lot better than it was and I think we will be ready next week."

Contact Sports Editor Brandon Watson at bwatson@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as twitter, @BwatsonSJ.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Sturgis golf team prepared for tough regional on Tuesday