Menominee Nation-Gresham boys golf team earns first conference win

A three-stroke win at Maple Hills Golf Course gave the Menominee Nation/Gresham boys golf co-op its first conference victory and marked a turning point for a program that has spent years trying to build itself into a contender.

The co-op posted a 344 at the conference meet in Wittenberg-Birnamwood, edging Amherst’s 347 in a field that also included Weyauwega-Fremont, Manawa, Marion/Tigerton, Wittenberg-Birnamwood, Iola-Scandinavia, Northland Lutheran, Pacelli, Bonduel and Shiocton. Gabe Boivin led the way with an 83 to tie for third individually, while Allex Mahl and Elliott Penass each shot 85. Anikohsaeh Corn added a 91 and Kenew Awonohopay finished with a 101.

For coach Robert Burr, the score line carried more meaning than a single good round. He checked the program’s history before calling it a milestone and said he could not find anyone, including community members and former coaches, who remembered a prior conference win. The co-op had finished second and third in its previous two conference meets before finally breaking through to first.

That breakthrough matters because the Menominee Nation and Gresham partnership was built out of necessity as much as opportunity. Burr said both schools were seeing declining participation numbers when the co-op was formed roughly six to eight years ago, and sharing a facility at Pine Hills made the arrangement workable. What once looked like a way to keep the roster full has started to look like a program with its own identity.

Anikohsaeh Corn’s role has been central to that shift. Burr described the senior as a key leader whose growth helped revive interest in the team. Corn came out for golf as a sophomore, kept Burr updated on his scores through the summer and fall, and then helped bring other students into the sport as they saw him improve.

The team’s rise has come in spite of limited practice time. Late buses force workouts to end by about 5 p.m., but Burr said the players often go back to the course after meets, talk through mistakes on the ride home, and want to keep working before returning to school the next day. That buy-in helped turn a small-school co-op into a team that finally delivered a conference title and may have set up the rest of the season with a new level of belief.