Jonesville grad Zachary Mains continues his golf career at Kalamazoo College

Posted by Admin August 10, 2024 Golf

JONESVILLE — Another former Jonesville boys golfer is making the transition from high school sports to collegiate athletics.

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Zachary Mains, a class of 2024 graduate, is heading to Kalamazoo College to continue his education and athletic career. Mains was a key contributor to the Jonesville boys golf team, helping them earn back-to-back Big 8 championships in 2022 and 2023.

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The coach’s award and team MVP honoree’s choices to continue his education included Kalamazoo, Clemson and North Carolina, but the financial opportunities at Kalamazoo College had brought him back to the state of Michigan. His decision to continue his golf career came down to an opportunity presented to him by the men’s coach Holden Price.

“I wanted to go to school at Kalamazoo College for academics, and when the coach saw my scores, he asked me if I wanted to play there,” Mains said. “It really was the opportunity. I have fun doing it and the team goes on all kinds of trips, and they play golf all over the country.”

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The NHS member, team academic all-state and high honor role honoree looks to pursue a career in finance and study economics while at Kalamazoo College. The Hornets compete in the Division III NCAA level of collegiate golf in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

Mains was joined by his brother, Brennan Mains, his three parents and Jonesville golf coach Mike Beatty for his signing day. Mains thanked everyone for their support during his Comet golf career and said he’d do it all again if given the chance.

“It’s been fun. It was a great opportunity to be here and I’d say I’d go back and do it again if I could.”

That golf career with Jonesville saw him earn all-conference and all-region honors during his career. He earned the coach’s team award and was the team MVP during his junior year.

That junior season saw Mains qualify for the state finals in an impressive end-of-season run. He took third overall and all-conference at the Big 8 conference finals. It was, at that point, his third all-conference honor of his career. He finished runner-up in the conference as a sophomore.

He had a career-best finish at the regional level that 2023 season, helping the team take sixth overall at the MHSAA D3 regional finals in Marshall. He earned all-region with a fifth-place overall finish with his final score of 85. He represented his team as a state qualifier at the D3 finals in East Lansing, taking 66th overall with a score of 89 on day one and 93 on day two. He had a birdie on day one and 10 pars through the two-day tournament.

During his senior season, helped lead the team to a third-place finish at the program’s first Cascades conference championship. He took fourth overall and all-conference honors with a 77 score at the championship tournament. He had a total score of 77, earning three birdies. Mains finished his prep golf career with an 88 final score at the 2024 regional finals, taking 29th overall.

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Mains is the second athlete from this past graduating class from Jonesville that will play sports for Kalamazoo College. Gavin Van Kampen will play men’s basketball for the Hornets. Mains’ senior teammate, Carter Baker, will play golf for Montcalm Community College.