ESCANABA — The Escanaba Country Club played host to a Great Northern Conference 9-hole invite Thursday in Escanaba.

For the boys’ side of the competition, the Menominee Maroons edged out the Marquette Redmen 161-166 to take the team win, with Kingsford (173), Escanaba (192) and Gladstone (231) following.

Marquette’s Owen Riipi ended his day with a score of 36 to top the individual boys’ standings, with Cooper Conway of Menominee one stroke behind in second. Two more Maroons — Andrew MacIntyre and Brady Badker — and Kingsford’s Cole Myllala tied for third at 39.

Marquette took first place team honors for the girls’ side of the competition with a score of 224 just ahead of the hosting Eskymos with a score of 226.

Menominee (251) and Kingsford (255) finished third and fourth.

Madison Derusha of Menominee placed first individually, carding a 46. Rounding out the top five were a pair of Redmen and a pair of Eskymos.

In second was Marquette’s Abigail Luke (51), third Escanaba’s Sophie Derkos (52), fourth Esky’s Cierra Scott (55) and fifth was Marquette’s Lexi Smith (56).

Despite overnight thunderstorms and a less than promising forecast, the meet went off without any issue from mother nature.

For boys’ runner-up and girls’ victor Marquette, it gave the team a much-needed break from weather-affected events.

“We’ve had a rough week,” said Redmen coach Ben Smith. “At our place on Monday it was super windy, and we got called off after a few holes. Balls wouldn’t stay, and it was, I don’t know 50 to 60 mile an hour winds. You can’t really play tournament golf in that.

“The next day, we went to Wawonowin. It was a beautiful day through the first 13 holes then we hit lighting and rain and got called off there. It’s kind of spring sports and spring golf in the U.P., but it was nice to have the weather kind of clear in the morning and kids had a chance to compete today, which is all you can ask for in these spring events.”

Escanaba coach Brian Robinette commented on both his squads and their current standing a few weeks into the 2022 season. While the boys’ side is still working on achieving their potential, the girls have a well-rounded group top to bottom.

“We haven’t really seen the results (on the boys’ side) that we’re looking for, and I think this program, coach Berlinski and I and the way we set up our program and the way we set up our program and the atmosphere we have, winning isn’t everything, but we certainly aim to be a team that is looked at as a team to beat,” Robinette said. “I think we have the quality of golfer to be that level of team.

“On the girls side, we have a lot of depth, and we’re consistent from top to bottom. If you look at my girls’ averages and the scores they’re shooting and how they’ve positioned themselves in the GNC through these three matches, all my girls are shooting in the 50s consistently. And there is a ceiling for improvement I can tell each time they get off the golf course. Across the board, they know there is another notch they can get to without that much more work.”

The Gladstone Braves are comprised of a baker’s dozen of boys led by two seniors Bryce Buchbinder and Peter Lippens, with underclassmen comprising the majority of the roster.

“With the way the weather shakes out this year, every meet so far has been a learning experience for our young team,” said Braves coach Dane Quigley. “The kids are out there learning going through the course, learning management stuff. I’m hopeful. I see a lot of bright spots with these young kids.

“I have some kids with this freshman class that are very passionate about the game. They play a lot of golf. I think in a couple of years, we’re going to be pretty competitive, but right now, we need to get that learning curve down.”

For this season, the Great Northern Conference will be decided via a season-long points system, with the final 18-hole match counting as double. Athletes can drop one score with the exception of the GNC final. The final standings will determine golfer of the year as well as first and second team honors in addition to the conference championship itself.

The Escanaba Country Club will host the upcoming 18-hole First Bank Invite on Thursday.

Last year’s edition of the event featured a shootout finish amongst the top three golfers from the boys side of competition.