Whitehall girls golfer voted top underclassmen fall sports athlete in Muskegon

MUSKEGON, MI – The game of golf can often be a mentally exhausting sport for even the most veteran competitors so when a high school freshman can enter the fold and immediately make an impact it’s incredibly impressive.

Whitehall freshman Riley Shafer was unfazed by the pressures of being a varsity girls golfer this fall, as she earned all-conference honors in the West Michigan Conference and finished within the Top 25 in 11 of the 13 events she competed in.

She finished the season with an 18-hole average of 91.9 and placed fifth overall at the Division 3 regional meet at the White Lake Golf Course, added a third-place finish at the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association city meet and capped off her season by finishing 36th overall at the Division 3 state finals at the Bedford Valley Golf Club.

“Riley is a very talented golfer who has invested much time into the game,” said Whitehall head coach Bill Borgman. “As a golfer, Riley’s potential is very high. She could be a very elite player in the area. Riley needs to continue to improve a few things in her swing, put in the time outside of the golf season, and develop a stronger mental game to withstand the inevitable ups and downs of the game. We believe that Riley will make these investments and continue to improve on the golf course. The Whitehall golf program is very excited to see what the future holds for this young Viking.”

Shafer certainly caught the attention of the readers of MLive and the Muskegon Chronicle this past week, as she gained serious traction in our final Fall Sports Stars project highlighting the top underclassmen in the Muskegon area.

The freshman standout for the Vikings finished with more than 54 percent of the total votes to come away as the Top Underclassmen Fall Sports Athlete in Muskegon for 2024.

Montague freshman boys cross country standout Nolan Kessler finished runner-up with 29 percent of the total votes, after he emerged as a top performer for the Wildcats this fall. He recently set a new personal-best time of 17:21.0 at a WMC Lakes jamboree.

Montague sophomore girls golfer Brynlee Kessler finished third overall in the final standings after she finished 22nd overall at the Division 4 state finals with a two-day score of 195 (100, 95) to help her squad finish sixth overall in the team standings. She finished Top 10 at the Ludington Invitational, the Whitehall Invitational, and the GMAA city meet, placed 13th overall at the D4 regional and earned all-conference honors in the West Michigan Conference.

Montague sophomore volleyball standout Annelyse Schneider finished fourth overall in total votes this past week. On the season, Schneider has recorded 118 kills and 32 blocks this season and has developed into a critical playmaker for the varsity squad after splitting time at the JV level at the beginning of the year.

Western Michigan Christian sophomore cross country standout Leah Sneller rounded out the Top 5 vote-getters after she recorded a season-best time of 20:23.1 at the Sparta Invitational on Sept. 14 and recently finished fifth at the GMAA city meet and seventh at the Mel Hall Invitational.

For a look at all of this past week’s underclassmen nominations, click here.

Below are the full results from this week’s poll.

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