Imagine that — Brighton has another strong golfer who happens to be a hockey player.
Some of the Bulldogs’ top players in recent years have transitioned to the golf course after a winter on the ice rink, most notably 2021 state Division 1 medalist Davis Codd.
Senior Carson Butler, one of four hockey players among Brighton’s 10 golfers in the lineup Thursday, shot par 72 to finish second out of 96 golfers in the Green, Black and Orange tournament at Kensington Metropark Golf Course.
“He’s a strong athlete, a hockey player, which we love in our program,” Brighton coach James Dewling said. “They’re natural athlete, which converts well over to golf. He’s put some time into golf this spring. He hits it a long way. That helps him on a golf course like Kensington. When he putts it and wedges well, he’s capable of shooting those scores.”
It was a career-low round for Butler, who wasn’t even playing for Brighton’s main team Thursday. The Bulldogs put two five-player teams on the course, with their “B” team winning with a score of 308. Brighton’s primary lineup finished fifth with a 314.
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Luke Stone shot 76, Jack Peterson 79 and Brayden Gregg 81 for Brighton’s “B” team. The Bulldogs’ “A” team got a 75 from Jacob Daavettila, who was Brighton’s leading scorer during hockey season. Jackson Frelich shot 79, while Brandon Lovejoy and Mitchell Stoll shot 80s. It was the first complete event for Brighton, which started a tournament April 7 that ended midway through because of snow.
“It was great to see 10 golfers go out there and have a good day,” Dewling said. “The ‘B’ team, if you want to call it that, put together five good scores and four of them added up and ended up being better than our starting players.”
Two things are certain: Brighton has one of the deepest programs in Michigan and competition for five spots in the postseason lineup will be fierce.
“It’s a competitive atmosphere this year at Brighton golf,” Dewling said. “Everyone’s fighting for playing time. There’s a lot of players who deserve playing time. It’s who’s going to be the best player at the end of the season. We’re lucky enough to play great tournaments all year long where there will be playing opportunities for players. We’ll find our five best players at the end of the year.”
Two other programs with outstanding hockey players in their lineups took second and third place, with Salem and Howell each shooting 313. Salem won the tie-breaker for second.
Zach Spencer, a member of Howell’s state finalist hockey team, tied for third place with a 73. Howell’s Gavin Hill and Hartland’s Aidan Oake tied for 21st with 78s. Hartland’s Wyatt Johnson shot 79.
Hartland was ninth out of 19 teams with a 320.
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Soccer
Hartland 1, Canton 0
Addie Frantti scored with 21 seconds left to give Hartland a huge victory heading into a showdown at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Brighton.
Claire L’Esperance took a corner kick, which was headed by Izzy DePestel from the far post across the front of the net to Frantti, who headed it in.
“It was a game in which we had lots of opportunities,” Hartland coach Andrew Kartsounes said. “Their goalkeeper played a phenomenal game. She made a lot of great saves. We had something around 18 shots, which about 10 of them were on goal.”
The Eagles are 5-3 overall, 3-1 in the KLAA West. Brighton is 4-0 and Northville 3-0 in division play.
Brighton 3, Novi 0
Brynn Bobby scored twice for Brighton, which stayed unbeaten in division play and improved to 7-1 overall. Bobby assisted on the Bulldogs’ other goal, scored by Ella Vandemergel.
Tennis
Novi 8, Howell 1
Senior Estie Sura, a state semifinalist last season, got Howell’s only victory with a 6-3, 6-0 decision over Avery Dorogi at No. 1 singles.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
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