But once the Indians started winning meets, they haven’t stopped, and that included Friday’s MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 2 Finals in girls golf.

Newberry edged runner-up Stephenson by three strokes, 465-468, for the U.P. team title at Oak Crest Golf Course in Norway.

“I’ve got three or four freshmen that continued to get better,” Newberry coach Kenn Depew said. 

Things turned around for the team about halfway through the spring season when Newberry won an event. Newberry later won the Eastern U.P. Conference tournament, part of a streak of five first-place finishes to end the season.

“A fantastic year for the girls,” Depew said. 

It was the second U.P. Finals championship for Newberry, and came 51 years after its first in 1974. That previous title was won against all of the participating teams as the U.P. played a single, all-class tournament in the U.P. until 1978.

Freshman Blair Maki led Newberry with a round of 105, good for third place overall. Her season went a lot like the team’s — she started out the year as the No. 5 golfer for the Indians.

“Then she went 4, 3, 2, 1,” Depew said. “Then she separated herself as a No. 1 and ended up third medalist … which is really good.”

With six schools among the dozen in attendance able to field a full, four-player team, Munising took third in that race with 480, St. Ignace was fourth with 507, Jeffers fifth with 515 and Norway sixth with 527.

Cedarville-DeTour sophomore Makenna Smith came to Norway looking to have fun playing golf on a nice day — and winning the individual finals title would certainly qualify as fun.

She carded 101 to become medalist, one stroke ahead of Norway senior Grace Schiltz. After Newberry’s Maki in third, Stephenson’s Cheyanne Palzewicz placed fourth with 108 and Cedarville-DeTour sophomore Brylee Smith rounded out the top five with 109.

Smith said it was “pretty cool” to be U.P. individual champion. She noted the best part of her game Friday was her drives, something that hadn’t been the case during the regular season.

“My coach really focused on it with me the past couple weeks,” she said, “and I’ve just been trying to dial in and drive it.”

In the second half of the top 10, Newberry senior Alazayah Depew tied for eighth and came in ninth based on the tiebreaker with 116, while Munising sophomore Carissa Deatsman and senior Cadence Schultz tied for 10th with 118, Deatsman winning that tiebreaker.

Also for Newberry, senior Amelia Shanley shot 121 to finish tied for 12th, freshman Sydney Duflo 123 for a tie for 16th and freshman Sailor Raymond 143.

From Munising, senior Lauren Nelson had 121 to also tie for 12th, Jolie Ake 123 to also tie for 16th and junior Hayden Bayer had 146.

Jason Juno is the sports editor of the Ironwood Daily Globe. He was reporting this story for the Michigan High School Athletic Association website, mhsaa.com.