Page 18 — Thursday, September 30, 2021 — The Hastings Banner
Janson takes his
spot as first golfer
in MSU Hall of Fame
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
The Spartans have made some room
between Kirk Gibson and Erin
“Magic” Johnson in the list of mem-
bers of their Michigan State University
Athletics Hall of Fame for the hall’s
first golfer – PGA pro and former
owner of The Legacy in Hastings
Lynn Janson.
Janson was inducted long with the
rest of the 2021 Hall of Fame Class,
which also includes Spartan greats
Franklin Gomez (wrestling), Anthony
Hamm (men’s cross country/track and
field), Carol Hutchins (softball/wom-
en’s basketball), Lynn Janson (men’s
golf), Elizabeth (Shimek) Moeggenberg
(women’s basketball), Floor Rijpma
(field hockey), Charles Rogers (foot-
ball) and Ron Scott (hockey), during
the annal “Celebrate weekend last
Friday, Sept. 24.
Janson golfed for Michigan State
between 1968 and 1970 where he was
a three-time All-American and two-
time All-Big Ten athlete. He led
Michigan State to its first Big Ten
Men’s Golf Championship in 1969.
That Big Ten victory came after he
won the 1968 Michigan Amateur
Championship. From Michigan State
he went on to compete in a number of
PGA events including seven U.S.
Opens, seven PGA Championships a
Senior PGA Championship and one
Senior U.S. Open.
“It was really quite thrilling,” Janson
told msuspartans.com of his seven
U.S. Open appearances. “The first one
I played in 1974 was at Winged Foot
and I made the cut. The next year I also
made the cut and got paired with
Arnold Palmer in round three in a two-
some. That was obviously a real thrill.
I think he was in his late 40s at the time
and was starting to be at the end of his
really great career.”
The Celebrate 2021 weekend at
Michigan State included the 11th-an-
nual Varsity Letter Jacket Presentation
on Thursday, and the Hall of Fame
induction ceremony on Friday. There
was also a special recognition of the
2021 MSU Athletics Hall of Fame
Class during the Michigan State-
Nebraska football game at Spartan
Stadium on Saturday.
“It was a wonderful weekend for my
wife [Norma] and I, and my family,”
Janson said.Media sessions were held Friday
before the banquet. The hall of fame
wall and plaques were revealed and
Janson and the rest of the inductees got
the chance to address the crowd. Lynn
and Norma, who live five months of
the year in Hastings and the rest of the
year in Florida, have three sons and a
daughter and now 16 grandchildren.
Lynn has happy to have ten of the
grandchildren among the crowd in a
suite for Saturday’s football game,
which the Spartans won 23-20 in over-
time against Big Ten foe Nebraska.
Janson grew up in East Lansing,
always expecting to attend Michigan
State, like his father and many of his
siblings.
“I played basketball, some baseball,
but I switched because the season was
the same, from baseball to golf my
sophomore year [of high school],”
Janson said. “I had a feeling at that
time that golf was going to be future
and not baseball.”
Janson spent 16 years as a teacher
and head professional at Green Ridge
Country Club in Grand Rapids and
then another 16 at the course when it
transformed into Egypt Valley Country
Club before moving on to Black
Diamond Ranch in Lecanto, Fla.
Janson was drawn back to Michigan
when the opportunity presented itself
to take over ownership of Hastings
Country Club, which he held for seven
years. He now spends winters in
Florida and works with the youth pro-
gram at The Legacy in Hastings (which
is the new name of the Hastings
Country Club.)
He keeps in touch with the Michigan
State men’s and women’s golf pro-
grams as he can.
“They have facilities now where
northern schools or cold climate
schools can compete in golf and
Michigan State has really wonderful,
both men’s and women’s, golf teams,”
Janson said. “They’re very competi-
tive nationally. They have facilities we
never dreamed of. Indoor facilities for
when its cold and out door facilities.”
The MSU Athletics Hall of Fame,
located in the Clara Bell Smith Student-
Athlete Academic Center, opened on
Oct. 1, 1999, and displays plaques of
the 154 previous inductees. The char-
ter class of 30 former Spartan stu-
dent-athletes, coaches and administra-
tors was inducted in 1992.Saxon progress continues at I-8 tourney
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
Lauren Arnold worked on her goals on the
way to Marshall Country Club Monday
according to Hastings varsity girls’ golf coach
Kristen Laubaugh.
Arnold thought about setting her sights on
scoring a 120 at the Interstate-8 Athletic
Conference 18-hole Championship, but also
wanted to be realistic and thought maybe
just besting 130 would be a good enough
goal.
The Saxon junior Arnold easily cleared
both numbers Monday, scoring a 115 to finish
in 23rd place overall on the day at the final
event of the conference season.
“Her short game has come around,”
Laubaugh said of Arnold. “She could hit a
decent ball coming in. She had played a little
bit this summer, but that short game is criti-
cal. That has come around.
“It has been a struggle still when you go
and play a different course. Putting is always
different and tricky. So, really figuring out
that short game has been critical.”
Arnold scored a par on the par-3 number
11 late in the round.
There has been a lot to learn for all the
Saxons this fall, who are all new to varsity
golf and mostly new to the game in general.
“I think they realize it is not just about how
far you can hit the ball,” Laubaugh said. “It isabout keeping it safe and then being able to
finish that hole strong. It has been a fun group
to work with. It is just they didn’t come in
with any experience.
“What do you even do?” she asked herself
numerous times this season.
The Saxons spent time working on how
to score on the course, but also how to
record a score on a scorecard (and in the
digital app varsity teams across the state
now use.)
“There is just so much involved,” Laubaugh
said. “It is hard to pick and choose.
“Oh, I didn’t talk to them about marking
your ball on the green,” she realized at one
point. “As somebody who has played golf forso long, you just assume some of those things.”
Parma Western senior Sydnie Redovich’s
and Coldwater senior Taylor Musselman’s
coaches didn’t have to worry about things
like that with them. Musselman won
Monday’s event with a score of 78 to finish
second to Redovich in the final overall indi-
vidual conference standings. Redovich was
third Monday with an 83. Lumen Christi
junior Ashley Hilderley was the runner-up
at the tournament with a score of 80. She
was third in the final overall conference
standings.
Lumen Christi’s team won Monday’s
tournament and the conference title with a
score of 351 at Marshall Country Club.Parma Western was second with a 365,
ahead of Coldwater 381, Harper Creek 387
and Hastings 537.
Lumen Christi had four girls among the
day’s top ten scorers. Junior Anna McClure
shot a 91 and junior Alexa Spencer a 92 for
the Titans.
Hastings at least had four girls competing
to earn a team score. Marshall and Jackson
Northwest brought less than full teams to
the course this fall and Pennfield didn’t
compete at all.
Junior Cassidee Easey scored a 124 for
the Saxons and sophomore Addey Nickels
and junior Julia McLean rounded out the
Hastings varsity roster Monday.Garrett, Aquinas’ best hitter
ever, joins school Hall of Fame
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
It is safe to say no Saint his hit the ball better
than Ashley (Aspinall) Garrett.
Garrett was officially finally inducted into
Aquinas College’s Coach Terry Bocian Athletic
Hall of Fame Sept. 17, after learning she had
earned a spot in school’s athletic hall of fame in
early 2020.
Garrett, who played at Aquinas from 2006-
2009, there are more career batting records in
the Saints log that belong to Garrett than don’t.
She has more career hits, home runs, doubles,
RBI, runs scored, total bases, walks, and leads
the Saint leaderboard in batting average, on
base percentage and slugging with a triple slash
line of.425/.499/.710.
She holds single season Aquinas records for
most doubles (21), home runs (14), RBI (63)
and total bases (126) and has single season
totals at or near the top in each of the other
offensive categories in which she is the career
record holder.
Garrett was named an NAIA All-American in
2009.
Garrett is now a certified athletic trainer at
Thornapple Kellogg High School and gets her
softball fix as the head varsity softball coach for
the Trojans.
“I have not played softball in four years. I
live vicariously through my team,” Garrett said.
Joining Garrett in the Hall of Fame class
during Aquinas’ homecoming weekend were
Jackie (Braspennix) Ehnis (‘07, women’s bas-
ketball), Kurt Huizenga (‘95, baseball), Paul
Lauer (‘90, men’s basketball), Pedja Lazic (‘11,
men’s basketball) and Vicky (Sackett)
McWilliams (‘02, women’s track and field) as
well as the 1984-85 women’s basketball team
and the 2004 men’s cross country team.
Garrett was excited to be joining Lazic and
Ehnis, who were at Aquinas while Garrett
attended school there.
“Getting to play with 20 other girls who had
the same passion as I did for the sport, it was
amazing,” Garrett said of her collegiate experi-
ence.
“There are a few of us who still get together
once in a while.”
The first thing Garrett could think of when
asked about on-field highlights was “never los-
ing to Cornerstone.”
“There were a lot. It is hard to pinpoint. Our
spring trips, we went to Florida my freshman
year and then Arizona the next three years.
Those are always a good time, to get out of
Michigan in early March and play some ball.
The road trips and spending time with your
team.”
Garrett said she had initially verbally com-
mitted to Lake Superior State University and
then at the last minute decided that might not be
right for her – and was offered a spot by then
Aquinas coach Ronda Varnesdeel.Garrett was nominated for the Hall of Fame
by current Aquinas Women’s Softball coach
Brad Koch. Garrett said she knew of the hall’s
existence, but being honored in this way was
never a thing that had crossed her mind.
Garrett said she played baseball until sixth
grade when former TK softball coach and ele-
mentary physical education teacher Jon
Greenman tapped her for some softball.
“He always called me ‘athlete,’ ever since I
was little. He was like, ‘hey athlete, come play
catch with me,” Garrett said.
She was on her way to lunch at the time, butstepped aside with Greenman. She said after
one toss he invited her to come play with a trav-
el softball team he was coaching.
“There were girls from all over, Wayland and
Forest Hills, and that is when it kind of started.
I was 12. I played travel ball throughout. I took
a couple summers off and played basketball,
which was probably good. I didn’t get burnt out.
I had a little bit of diversity.
“It is always good when you love the game
and you’re successful at it. It makes you want to
keep going. So, I was lucky enough to find that
success – with a lot of hard work”The Saxons' Arnold gets the line on a putt on the 15th green during the Interstate-8 Athletic Conference Championship at
Marshall Country Club Monday afternoon. (Photo by Brett Bremer)
Hastings junior Cassidee Easey gets a hug from head coach Kristen Laubaugh after
finishing up her 18 holes at the Interstate-8 Athletic Conference Championship hosted
by Marshall Country Club Monday afternoon. (Photo by Brett Bremer)Thornapple Kellogg varsity soft ball coach Ashley (Aspinall) Garrett looks on has her TK
varsity softball team competes in a Division 2 District Final in June. Garrett, who played
high school softball for the Trojans went on to play at Aquinas College, was inducted into
Aquinas' Coach Terry Bocian Athletic Hall of Fame Sept. 17. (File photo)