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ALLEGAN — Defending champion Kalamazoo Christian held off a charge from Dowagiac at the Lakeland-KVA Golf Tournament at Cheshire Hills on Monday.

The Comets, who won all nine jamborees, shot 374 to defeat Dowagiac, which shot 382. Kalamazoo Hackett, which would be the runner-up to Christian in the final standings, finished third with a 386. South Haven and Comstock both shot 413, but the Rams earned the four-place finish base on fifth-person scoring.

Cassopolis finished seventh with a 487 and Berrien Springs ninth with a 539. Brandywine did not have enough golfers to post a team score.

Dowagiac’s Rebecca Guernsey knocked off defending conference medalist Jordyn Bonnema, of Kalamazoo Christian, as she shot a 75. Bonnema, who would defend her championships in the final standings, shot an 81.

“We had a good day,” said Dowagiac Coach Bob Turner. “Could have been a great day, we actually struggled a bit on our last four or five holes. We had a shot at winning. I’m not sure if we ran out of gas or nerves got us. Rebecca has been playing lights out. Seventy-five is a great score.”

Dowagiac’s Bree Behnke finished in the top 10 individually as she carded a 97 to place eighth.

“Very happy for Bree and Carlee [Spagnoli] playing their way into honorable mention for all-conference,” Turner said. “We will get some good practices in the rest of this week and see if we can make some noise at regionals.”

The Comets took home the championship trophy as they finished with 121 points. The Fighting Irish were second with 103 points, while South Haven was third with 98 and Dowagiac fourth with 94. Comstock finished fifth with 71 points. Cassopolis placed seventh (59), Berrien Springs 10th (24) and Brandywine 11th (15).

For more results, click here.