Michigan Center’s Shannon carrying state championship success to the spring
MICHIGAN CENTER, Mich. (BVM) — Going into high school, Kamryn Shannon probably envisioned that if she would go on to play sports in college, it would be either in basketball or softball.
She has played on the hardwood since she was little, most recently helping Michigan Center High School to a regional championship last winter. She also enjoyed a fun freshman softball season with the Cardinals before her sophomore season was wiped away last spring.
However, over the past three years, Shannon’s main sport has not been played on the basketball court of the softball diamond, but rather the golf course. The Michigan Center junior had never played prior to her high school career, and it was her grandfather who got her into the game.
“My grandpa used to be the coach at Michigan Center before I was in school,” Shannon said. “One day, he came over and asked me to hit wiffle balls and was amazed with how well I hit them. So, he eventually got me fitted for clubs. He has helped me out so much with figuring out my swing and just knowing all the rules with golf.”
Going into her freshman season at Michigan Center, Shannon was really just playing for fun and to try out the sport. She was also playing volleyball that fall, and as a result, missed most golf practices. However, she did go to all her meets, and found time on her own to experiment with the game and develop her skills.
Although she averaged a nine-hole score of 56 as a freshman, Shannon grew a liking for the game. In the offseason, she began seeing a swing coach, Steve Sarri. She also competed locally on the RW Mercer Jackson Junior Golf Tour to help improve her game.
The result was a vastly improved sophomore season, where she cut ten strokes off her average, taking it down to 46. Shannon and her Cardinals teammates also had their first opportunity to compete at state.
“Making it to state was amazing, but the outcome wasn’t the best because we were all kind of new to the game still,” Shannon noted.
Individually, Shannon placed in the 40s at state in just her second year of golf. The stage was set for Shannon to continue to develop through the next spring and summer. And despite the COVID-19 pandemic causing uncertainty, she did just that, notably shooting a career-best 76 at a junior amateur tournament.
“My goals going into my junior season were to just have fun and try to place in the top 10 at state,” Shannon said. “But when Covid hit, I thought I wasn’t going to get all my summer practices and tournaments in. I thought wrong because everyday I was at a course golfing and/or playing in a tournament so Covid actually helped me out so much with being able to better my game.”
Shannon yet again improved vastly into her junior season, and ended up setting numerous program marks, including 18-hole score, 18-hole score average, 9-hole score, 9-hole score average, conference-season average and a first-place conference finish. In addition, the Cardinals broke every team record in program history.
Then came the postseason for Shannon, where, despite winning regionals, she suffered a bad final round that led to some pessimism going into state.
“That bad round made me upset and gave me little hope to win state so I just thought, place in the top 10 and you will be happy,” Shannon explained. “But I went every night for like three hours and worked on my game to try and place in the top 10.”
Shannon would play much better at state, hitting some good shots early to boost her confidence. The golfer is never one to check the scoreboard, but as she approached the last few holes and noticed more and more people around her, she decided to see where she was at.
“Going up to my last hole of the day, seeing all the different media people walking over kind of confused me,” Shannon said. “So, I thought maybe I should check the leaderboard to see what was up. When I checked, I noticed I was in first place so I thought if I want to win this, I need to risk it and drill a driver down the fairway and I did that with butterflies all over in my stomach.”
The Michigan Center junior nailed her drive down the fairway, put her second shot on the green, and two-putted for par, giving her an impressive state title victory.
“Getting on the green, I just told myself get it by the hole and you can’t three-putt,” Shannon added. “When I hit my ball and it stopped near the hole, I was just so happy. It was so amazing tapping in that last putt to finish the round. I went over, turned my scores in and just burst into tears with my family and friends all around me.”
Incredibly, Shannon took home a state title — something athletes work years for — just three years into her golf career. Not only does it show the immense potential she has, but also is a testament to the hard work she has put in the last few years.
“Winning state has made me the happiest person ever because never did I imagine to be where I am this early on,” Shannon said. “But being able to be confident and put in hours of work is just what everyone needs to do. I hope my story is an inspiration because I golf with girls all the time that have played almost their entire life and it just shows that you can start brand new to something and be just as good as others as long as you are dedicated and put in the time.”
At the same time, Shannon and her Cardinal teammates achieved a third-place finish at state. With coach Cara Brown at the helm, the Michigan Center program continues to improve year by year.
“Taking third at state was so good for our team because the year before we had placed around 15th,” Shannon continued. “We improved so much and it just showed how hard we all have worked over summer. Coach Brown has helped us a lot and supports each of us. She is like another mom to me.”
As the spring has progressed, Shannon’s game has followed. Last year, in addition to the Mercer tour, she began playing with the Jackson County Women’s Golf Association (JCWGA), the Callaway/Meijer Golf Tour and the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM). Recently, she took home a JCWGA one-day event victory at the Country Club of Jackson.
“I was so excited for the one-day event at the country club because I love going out and playing with the older ladies,” the junior noted. “Being able to play again was so nice as was getting back into my game and being able to walk away with a win”
Throughout the remainder of the spring and summer, Shannon plans to continue playing on each of the same tours, and will also look to compete in the Michigan Open as well as the high school nationals at Pinehurst in North Carolina.
By late summer, it will be time for Shannon’s senior season at Michigan Center, where the thought of becoming a repeat champion is certainly in mind.
“My goals for my senior season are to just have fun and not be so hard on myself,’ Shannon said. “I want to be able to just enjoy the game and prepare myself for the state tournament again. To repeat as a state champion would mean so much to me just because I wasn’t known by anyone and if I am able to repeat I feel like more colleges will reach out and find out about me.”
Although it may not have been just a couple years ago, college golf is something that is firmly on the radar of the state champion, and continuing to shine through the summer and fall will only help her case. While Shannon has already received some interest, she is keeping her options open to find the right school for her.
“As of right now, I have talked with a few schools,” she said. “I am still keeping my eye open because I just want to find the perfect fit that has a good program for sports management or PGM, and also find somewhere where my teammates are going to push me everyday to be my best.”
Golfing at the collegiate level will be a dream come true for Shannon, and if her career continues the rapid progression it has been on, perhaps she can even take her career further.
“Playing college golf will be so cool because growing up I always wanted to go to college for a sport,” Shannon said. “Being able to compete at the college level is going to be able to push me and get me ready to eventually try to make it further onto the LPGA tour which would be a dream. I am just going to work hard and never give up on my goals and dreams.”
