Inaugural Dan Young Invitational golf outing goes down to the wire

You know you’re widely admired in your community when someone names a golf tournament after you — and you’re still as young as Dan Young.

On Tuesday at Canton’s Pheasant Run Golf Course, South Lyon earned the first-place trophy after winning the inaugural Dan Young Invitational with a score of 345 — just four shots lower than runner-up Dexter.

South Lyon’s “B” team finished third (369) while Plymouth earned fourth with a score of 392.

During Young’s 10-year tenure as the Wildcats’ head coach, the school won multiple state titles.

Just as important as the success Young helped generate was the classy way in which he led his teams, said current Plymouth Head Coach Kevin Niemiec.

‘DY is a legend’

“DY is a legend,” said Niemiec. “He’s an incredible human being and he connects with everybody.

“Dan is one of those people who make you feel special, no matter what. And he was an amazing coach.”

Currently the executive director of the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan, Young was a longtime physical education teacher at Pioneer Middle School before retiring.

The champion Lions placed three golfers in the top nine. Seniors Kaylyn Wisniewski (82) and Mackenzie Schulz (85) placed third and tied for sixth, respectively; while sophomore Lily Swegles (88) tied for ninth.

Wisniewski was impressed while playing her first round ever at Pheasant Run.

‘Beautiful course’

“It’s a beautiful course and in great condition,” she said. “It gets a little tricky in spots with all the O.B. (out of bounds), but it’s a very nice course.”

Wisniewski admitted Tuesday’s title was “a little shocking” considering the Lions’ roster status.

“We had one of our top-five girls out sick and others had prior commitments, so we didn’t have a full team,” Wisniewski said. “Considering that, it was a little surprising we won.”

The individual championship was thrilling to the last dropped putt.

Sisters pace the Dreadnaughts

Dexter’s Avery Manning took home the silver medalist cup after she outlasted Milford’s Taegen Skatzka on the second hole of a scorecard playoff. Both players carded rounds of 80.

“It’s my first invitational win, which makes it pretty cool,” said Manning, a junior. “Plus, my sister (Maddy) is a freshman on the team this year, so getting my first invitational win with her as one of my teammates was special.”

Plymouth junior Annie Flavin and South Lyon East senior Grace Sturgill tied for fourth overall with rounds of 83. Maddy Manning and Schulz deadlocked at 85, Salem freshman Brooke Resovsky was eighth at 86, while Swegles and Dexter junior Mille Truesdell tied for ninth with 88s.

Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.