By Mark Schafer | The News-Review
OSKALOOSA – Being so close to the victory, but far away might give them the motivation they need for the rest of the year.
Last Monday at the South Iowa Cedar League conference boys golf tournament the Sigourney boys were just one stroke away from a repeat of the conference title. On top of that the Savages were able to place five of their six golfers within the top-10.
The Savages had 336 total strokes. They were just one stroke behind HLV-TC who won the conference title with a 335.
“The guys battled, but we just ended up leaving way too many strokes out there,” said Zach Tremmel, the head coach for the Sigourney boys golf team. “When you end up coming up short by one stroke, you start to think about every shot. Hopefully it will be a huge eye-opener for the team as we move onto sectionals and districts. Those are the biggest meets and we know that one stroke there can make all the difference. So I hope today will be a big motivator for the team.”
Junior Solon Yates led the Savages in the meet. He finished fifth overall with an 81 on his scorecard.
“Today was a big eye-opener for the entire team,” Tremmel said. “We played with a lot of confidence, but we still got beat. You have to realize that it can take just one bad day and your season is over. We saw a bit of that today.”
Freshman Jordan Tremmel was able to shoot an 84. He was sixth overall in the conference.
Cain Weber finished with an 85 on his score card, tying him with a number of local athletes for seventh overall.
“I really thought Cain Weber played the best of us today,” Coach Tremmel said. “At least in terms of where we are at, he had a great round. He put in a nice number for our sixth man. At the same time I know the top guys on our team can shoot a little bit better.”
Isaac Bruns and Ike Molyneux both tied Weber with an 85 overall. Josh Wyatt finished with a 96 on his scorecard to round out the six-man rotation for Sigourney.
Overall it was a successful day for the area schools. Keota had two golfers in the top-10 as Bennan McGuire finished second with a 77. Porter Cave finished fourth with a 79.
“I started off the day with a nice little par. My drivers and irons were great for me today,” McGuire said after his runner-up finish. “My chipper was really on-point today. I was rolling the ball good with the chipper. That really helped me.”
McGuire said that once he sees one club, especially his chipper start to work well he knows it will be a decent round.
“I’m very big in keeping my mental shape strong, and having a club I know I can trust is big,” McGuire said. “I am also big into talking with God and being there with him and having him help me through the round.”
McGuire was just two strokes behind HLV-TC’s Peyton Roth who was the conference champion with a 75. Originally it looked like McGuire would have finished third, but BGM golfer Ethan Bridgewater, who shot a 74, was disqualified for not adding penalty strokes after using a provisional ball.
Overall the Eagles finished third with 341 total strokes. Billie Kindred finished in a tie for seventh with an 85. Cooper Strand was 27th with a 100, Jake Morris and Tucker Sprouse tied each other for 39th with a 108.
English Valleys was ninth overall with 443 total strokes.
Gage Heyne finished with a 78 on his score card.
“I started out the day with a good strike, and then I got a birdie off of that. I had a decent next hole. From there I was able to really get into a good rhythm from there,” Heyne said after his round. “I was pretty level-headed throughout the day. I didn’t have any shots that I wanted to take back. Nothing too good, nothing too bad. Pretty normal round for me. Nothing to be too mad about.”
Tyler Lortz finished 21st overall with a 93. Jackson shot a 149. Cyrus Morrison was able to finish with a 153. Garin Schaffner was able to finish with a 172.
All three golf teams will now shift their focus to the sectional golf tournament which takes place May 14.
Sigourney hosts one sectional tournament. English Valleys and Keota will play at Brooklyn.
