Laura Kwiatkowski blazed a new trail for the Brandon girls golf program at the Division 2 state meet June 3.
Kwiatkowski, a junior, was the first Brandon High School girls golfer in the three-year history of the BHS program to compete at the state meet, held at Forest Akers West in East Lansing.
She finished 17th out of 86 girls competing in the meet with a round of 87, just missing out on making All-State honors. The top 12 golfers made All-State, with the cutoff score at 83.
Brandon coach Jerry Warner said Kwiatkowski battled some jitters at the beginning of the match, but settled down once she got into the flow of the meet.
‘At one point, she had eight pars in a row,? he said. ‘It’s a very hard course. She parred every one of the par-three holes, but the par-fives gave her some trouble. They were short holes, but very complex.?
Warner said the state meet was unlike any Kwiatkowski had previously played in.
‘It’s a big tournament, and she plays a lot against quality competition, but it’s still the best golfers in the state that she played against,? he said. ‘There were also quite a few spectators.?