'Comeback kids' win SMAA golf title

[caption id="attachment_570" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Head coach Steve Brower (far left) and his Hillsdale High School boys golf team won the SMAA conference championship with a first-place finish at Lakeland Hills Tuesday. Hillsdale shot a 321, while runner-up Western shot a 329. "][/caption]

A team of golfers who Hillsdale High School head coach Steve Brower dubbed "The Comeback Kids" are now also officially championship winning kids.

The Hornet boys golf team shot a 321 at Lakeland Hills Golf Course Tuesday, eight shots better than second place Western, to complete a comeback from a distant second place in the league standings to first overall, with a win at the SMAA conference meet — all in the course of a few weeks.

Senior Jay Carey was the meet medalist, shooting a 75, Tyler Condon put up a 79 and Tyler Conrad and Zach Kinsey posted scores of 82 and 85, as Hillsdale shot a 321 to take home the league trophy.

The Western Panthers beat the Hornets in each of the first three SMAA jamborees, but Brower said he thinks his team's turning point was a win at the Lansing Christian jamboree, the first of several key victories .

"Then we went on to win the Stockbridge jamboree and coming into today we had to beat Western to win the league and we just went out and did it. That's why I call them 'The Comeback Kids,'" Brower said.

Points are awarded for a teams' finishing position at each jamboree throughout the season, with the conference meet being worth double the points and the Hornets and Panthers were tied coming into Tuesday's outing.

"My boys just kept working hard all season and really it just came down to how we started to play smart golf," Brower said. "For example, Jay (Carey) had a double-bogey today but didn't let it get to him and just recovered to play real well. Actually, Jay has been red hot as of late, hitting the ball well and putting good too."

Robby Russell (89) and Tyler Vogt (97) are also members of the squad, although the team didn't use their scores on Tuesday.

It marked the Hornets second straight SMAA title, and Brower said he has "no clue" how many they have won since he's taken over as the head coach.