With the North Woods Golf Conference championship only a week away, Johannesburg-Lewiston's Joey Chrencik looks ready to take the individual crown, while St. Mary is gearing up to repeat for the team title.

Chrencik shot 11-over-par 47 to tie with Mackinaw City's Kal O'Brien as the individual medallist during a match Tuesday at Michaywé Pines

St. Mary's Tristan Glasby carded 48 for third individually, leading the Snowbirds to a first-place finish with a team score of 196. J-L shot 204 to place second, followed by Mackinaw City with 235 and Rogers City with 294.

Also for the Snowbirds, Ryan Meisner and Austin Samkowiak both shot 49s, followed by Nic Breckow with 50, Max Lutz with 52, Cal Gilling with 56 and Johne Burkhardt with 69,

The Cardinals received help from PJ Bucy and Ezra Gascho shooting 52s, followed by Blake Harrington with 53, Joe Bush with 55 and Zeke Lindbert with 75.

On Wednesday, Chrencik shot 3-over 38 to win a conference match at The Tradition at Treetops North.

St. Mary carded 183 to win the team portion and remain undefeated in league play, while J-L's 189 was good enough for second. Mackinaw City shot 219, and Rogers City finished with 285.

Meisner shot 44 for second place for the Snowbirds, while Glasby's 45 earned him third. Samkowiak and Breckow shot 47s.

For the Cardinals, Bush shot 49, Harrington carded 50 and Bucy finished with 52.

GAYLORD — Joey Chrencik swung and put a deep slice into the rough on the opening tee Thursday at The Tradition.

"Joseph Michael!" Chrencik's mom, Patty, said from her cart. "What did you do wrong, Joseph?"

"I hit my club face open," the sophomore replied.

With mom's critique, Chrencik turned around his round and carded 9-over-par 44 to become the individual medallist during a North Woods Golf Conference match at Treetops North.

The Cardinals won the event.

"She's tough on him, but he knows he's got to focus when he hears, 'Joseph Michael!'" said Johannesburg-Lewiston coach Curt Chrencik, Patty's husband and Joey's dad. "Joey kind of struggled a bit, but he recovered and scored OK.

"But he did struggle. He's definitely looking to improve, and that's for all of us the first time getting out there."

Blake Harrington scored 48 to take second place individually, while Joe Bush shot 57 to take third.

Also playing for the Cardinals were Ezra Gascho (60), PJ Bucy (62), Zeke Lindbert (68) and Cassi Baur (89).

Joey and Bush played in a twosome and helped each other focus during the nine-hole opener.

"After that first hole, we just said to ourselves, 'We got to regroup and refocus to get our mental game back,'" Joey said. "The mental game is probably the most important part of your golf game. If you don't have it mentally, you don't have it."

Part of Joey's troubles was a group of six behind them pushing them to play faster than Joey and Bush would in a normal tournament.

Still, Joey knows he needs to keep his head in the game.

"His ability is there, but a lot of it's mental," Coach Chrencik said. "You got to play 18 holes, and you're talking about five hours of focus. If you start to break down, one or two holes can hurt your score.

"He's definitely worked hard, and he worked hard all winter. All four (starting) boys played in the winter league and kept swinging, but I see (Joey) being more consistent and hitting the ball a lot better going forward. He's got to keep his focus the entire time and not let the little things get in his way."

Even if that means mom's chirping in your ear.

Snowbirds top Mancelona in two-school match

• Mancelona's James Kendrick shot 5-over-par 41 to become the individual medallist in Thursday's North Woods Golf Conference match at Shanty Creek Resorts.

But it was St. Mary that outscored the host Ironmen, as the Snowbirds carded 197 to beat Mancelona's 236.

St. Mary's Ryan Meisner shot 44 for second place, followed by Austin Samkowiak with 50.

Also playing for the Snowbirds were Max Lutz (51), Nic Breckow (52), Triston Glasby (56) and Cal Gilling (56).