Marquette’s Tyler Bergwall lines up a putt on the second green Thursday in the Great Northern Conference 18-hole meet at Pine Grove Country Club in Iron Mountain. (Iron Mountain Daily News photo by Burt Angeli)

IRON MOUNTAIN — Escanaba swept the team titles while Escanaba’s Paxton Johnson and Marquette’s Tyler Bergwall cemented individual player of the year honors in the 18-hole Great Northern Conference golf finale Thursday at Pine Grove Country Club.

GNC teams wrapped up their first season under a new format, where teams and individual golfers accumulated points in five nine-hole meets and the 18-hole closer. Johnson and Bergwall entered Thursday as the individual points leaders.

The final season tabulations had Escanaba’s girls with 32 points as Menominee was second with 28, Kingsford and Gladstone each with 17 and Marquette 10.

In the 18-hole meet, Escanaba nipped Menominee 410-411.

For the boys, Escanaba racked up 29 points on the season to edge Gladstone and Marquette with 26 apiece. Kingsford was fourth with 17.

Escanaba coach Brian Robinette liked the new format, and not just because his teams took both championships. Past golf seasons had the 18-hole GNC tournament as the only way for honors while nine-hole meets were meaningless.

“What we noticed early on was that kids took a vested interest and watched their season progress,” Robinette said. “When the kids take ownership of their season, good things start to happen. It elevated the caliber of play.

“It’s not about winning, it’s about the body of work over a season. I think it’s going to really take off from here.”

Thursday’s 18-hole meet earned double points for teams and individuals. The Eskymos’ Johnson and Megan Dagenais topped the All-GNC first team with Menominee’s Arikah Bellisle, Emma Hofer and Josie Hofer.

Bergwall led the All-GNC boys first team with Gladstone’s Rudy Peterson, Escanaba’s Nathan Rousseau and Trevor Denome, and Marquette’s Jordan Jurmu.

“I watched a lot of kids that were on the First Team that fell out of the First Team, because of the double points,” Robinette said. “So there was a lot of fluctuation. It made the 18-hole event real valuable.”

Johnson carded an 89 and Dagenais followed with a 90 to lead the Eskymos with 410 past Menominee’s 411. Kingsford had 464 and Gladstone 494.

Johnson, who reached the championship flight semifinals of the 2017 U.P. Ladies Golf Association tournament, shot her worst round of the year.

“I could not putt at all,” Johnson said. “My short game was really bad. I was hitting off the tee pretty good but my second shots into greens, 100 yards in, I couldn’t do anything.”

A morning rain shower that delayed play soaked the Eskymo junior and her clubs.

“That threw me off a little bit but I did come around at the end and made some pars,” Johnson said. “I’m happy about that.”

Robinette knew that he could rely this season on Johnson and Megan Dagenais. He wasn’t sure about the untested Macie Carlson, Macy Leisenring and Kenadie Dagenais.

“Megan was a rock for us and played phenomenal golf (in her senior season),” Robinette said. “She pushed Paxton enough.

“My two Macies and Kennedy had never played a medal-round tournament in their lives until this year. I was quite nervous about them doing it.

“They kept an unbelievably good attitude even during the stresses and the struggles, and they got better. I would give all three of them single-digit handicaps in how their attitudes held up during the year.”

Marquette, led by the 1-2 punch of 18-hole meet medalist Bergwall (80) and Jordan Jurmu (81), carded 330 in beating Escanaba with 350. Kingsford had 354 and Gladstone 360.

Bergwall, who jokingly referred to the rain delay as Hurricane Katrina, didn’t have a birdie on the day.

“I kept pushing my irons and I wasn’t hitting greens at all,” Bergwall said. “On the back nine I didn’t play good golf at all.”

The junior double-bogeyed the par-5 12th hole after a “really good drive, but then I had a bad lie.”

Peterson and Rousseau each shot 83 to share third in the 18-hole meet. Marquette’s Kyle Nemacheck was fifth with an 83.

“Pine Grove won today, in my opinion,” Robinette said of the high scores.

Pressure from Gladstone brings out the best in the Eskymos.

“Gladstone makes us play hard,” Robinette said. “They’re a strong team. But our boys are competitive, it’s one of the aces up their sleeves. Not all of them have perfect golf swings but they play a lot of golf. They’re fighters, they scrape, they claw, they get the most out of their round.”

U.P. Division 1 golf teams close out the season Thursday at Sweetgrass in Harris.