Golf state finals and basketball in the same day? Sure, why not
Calvin Christian’s Will Orme played in the Division 4 state golf finals at the Meadows, on the campus of Grand Valley State. Then a few hours later, he was playing in a basketball game back at GVSU on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photos | Lenny Padilla).
ALLENDALE, Mich. - Will Orme looked exhausted as he walked off the basketball court after playing in a game at a team camp on Saturday evening.
You’d never know that a few hours earlier he was playing in the most important sporting event of his young life.
Orme, a soon-to-be junior at Calvin Christian High School, played in the MHSAA Division 4 golf state championships this weekend at The Meadows, on the campus of Grand Valley State University.
The Squires finished second in the state and Orme was seven overall with a score of 87-75-162.
“As an individual, I finished seventh overall and our team finished second,” he said. “I’m obviously proud of how we played.”
After taking photos with his teammates and the Mitten trophy, he rushed home, got his basketball gear and came right back to GVSU to play in a basketball team camp where Calvin Christian was playing in games at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.
“I got off the course around the course 2 p.m.” Orme said. “I stopped home, got my basketball shoes and came right back here. I made it just in time for the 6 p.m. game. Now I’m pretty tired.”
Calvin Christian’s Will Orme is greeted by his teammates as he arrives just in time for a basketball game at GVSU on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
On the basketball court, he looked a little rusty. But after he scored his first bucket, he got into the flow of the game and helped the Squires win.
“I feel good. I’m getting back into it,” he said. “It’s been awhile. Transitioning back into basketball, I’ve got some work to do.”
Calvin Christian basketball coach Matt Veltema wasn’t surprised that Orme wanted to play both sports in the same day.
“That’s the beauty of our school,” Veltema said. “Multi-sport athletes just thrive here. He’s an incredible golfer. I think some kids would be like ‘Coach, I’m tired after the golf state finals’. But you could tell when I told him we had games at Grand Valley, he was like ‘I’ll be there. I wanna play.’ He’s just a competitor.”
Orme’s parents, Kyle and Liz Orme, and his older brother Ethan, spent all day on the golf course watching him play.
“My mom thought I was crazy, but my dad wanted me to come play basketball, too,” Orme said. “My mom thought it was too much for today. But I was fine with it.”
Orme, a 6-foot-1, 160-pound guard, averaged 14 points per game last season for the Squires and was named First-Team All-Conference in the O-K Silver Conference.
But he might be a better golfer right now than a basketball player.
“I had a decent first day, despite the rough conditions,” Orme said of the state finals. “I came into today thinking ‘I want to score and do my best. And If I have time, make it here to play in these games.’”
On the golf course, Orme averaged 76 strokes on 18 holes.
So is he better at golf or basketball?
“Right now, I’d say golf,” he said. “Just depends on what season I’m in.”
Click here for photos of Calvin Christian basketball from the GVSU team camp.
Click here for photos of the Division 2 and 4 golf state finals.
Calvin Christian’s Will Orme takes a practice swing on hole No. 14 in the Division 4 state golf finals at The Meadows, on the campus of Grand Valley State on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photos | Lenny Padilla).
