Coach Ryan Slater (l) and his son Jackson Slater (r) pictured together on April 29 in Oelwein where the younger Slater won his first medal ever.

Union girls golf at Waterloo Columbus, April 25

What was supposed to be a Quad Meet on Monday, April 25, at South Hills Golf Course in Waterloo turned into a dual meet for scoring purposes. BCLUW withdrew due to the cold weather and Jesup was only able to bring two players to the meet.

Union freshman Amelia Schmitz had a challenging start with the holes that were in direct line with the chilling winds but got hot halfway through the round playing 4 over golf over a 5 hole stretch to bring in a 55 and earn her first career Medalist Honor.

Senior Sarah Michael was a couple strokes behind with a 57. Sophomore Ava Mehlert was able to participate for us due to the night off of track. She hit some quality shots en route to a 60. If she is able to clean some things up around the green we feel she is capable of shooting some sub 50 scores for us.

Senior Belle Olson finished out our scoring with a 65.

Team Scoring

Union 237, Waterloo Columbus 249

Union golf v. Sumner-Fredericksburg, April 28

Our boys golf team has been knocking on the ‘160 Door’ for a couple of years now and we finally got it open on Thursday, April 28, at home in La Porte City with a 157. That number is always a good measuring stick for any team as you are averaging under 40 per player.

Union junior Ty Lorenzen got off to a slow start with three bogeys to open his round but got hot mid round by birdieing the tricky fifth hole and then driving the par 4 6th and sinking his putt for an eagle. The ninth hole once again reared its ugly head and he carded a triple there but still shot a solid round of 38 and bested his playing partner, Junior Joe Bistline, on the cardback to win another Medalist Honor.

Senior TJ Freeland brought in another round of 40 for us, and Junior Mack Schmitz rounded out our scoring with a 41. We shot a great number but know that we can still finish off rounds better to shoot a number that really represents our abilities.

On the girls side, freshman Chloe Bolte of Sumner-Fredericksburg continued her solid play this season with a 39 and earned the Medalist Honor. Our track can be a tricky one and you got to know where to miss it, so this was an impressive score playing the course for the first time. Bolte was followed by teammates Morgan Brandt and Katie Reno who both shot rounds of 46 with Brandt winning the cardback to earn Runner-Up Medalist.

The Union girls shot a 223, their best number by five shots on the season and had four scores in the 50’s which was a goal for the team at the start of the season. We fell short of our other goal of breaking 220, but we have one more meet at home next week to try and get that done.

Boys Scores

Union 157, S/F 198

Union: Ty Lorenzen 38, Joe Bistline 38, TJ Freeland 40, Mack Schmitz 41

S/F: Joe Kroenecke 46, Jaymison Howard 47, Brennan Duffy 52, Reid Holtz 53

Girls Scores

S/F 183, Union 223

S/F: Chloe Bolte 39, Morgan Brandt 46, Katie Reno 46, Emma Koester 52

Union: Sarah Michael 52, Belle Olson 56, Sydney Schmuecker 56, Lydia Albertsen 59

Union golf at Oelwein, April 29

Well, this one was extra special to say the least. My son, Jackson, is a senior on the team holding the last varsity spot. He really has fallen in love with the game in the last year and had high aspirations for the season. He has had a couple average rounds where we used his score for the night as part of our team score but has not been in contention for a medal. Our Friday, April 29 meet started out rough for him as well with an opening triple bogey. The saddleback greens at Oelwein’s Hickory Grove Golf Course are fast and tricky and especially if you are playing it for the first time. Jackson was able to right the ship after that, parring 6 of his last 8 holes by getting up and down from several precarious positions and making lengthy putts. It was a whirlwind round that got him in a four way tie at the top and he won the cardback for medalist to earn his first ever medal of any kind. As his father and coach, I couldn’t have been more proud of him for persevering after a tough start and executing so many challenging shots along the way. The rest of our scoring included sophomore Joe Bistline who was in that four way tie for first, followed by junior Mack Schmitz with a 44 and senior Josef Schmitz had a 47.

Senior Sarah Michael was in medal contention for the girls but ended up finishing in 3rd place. This has happened to her a few times this season. We return to Pine Lake on Monday, May 2, where she earned an All-Tournament medal last year in her first season of play and have a home meet with Denver later this week. Hopefully she can get her hands on a couple more medals as her senior season is winding down. Sophomore Sydney Schmuecker got back in the 50s as well this meet (58) and we look for more improved play from her as we start entering the post season next week. Our other scores included senior Belle Olson with a 63 and sophomore Clara Carlson with a 68.

Boys Scores

Union 175, Oelwein 184, Starmont 191

Medalist: Jackson Slater (Union) 42

Runner-Up Medalist: Ethan Anderson (Oelwein) 42

Girls Scores

Oelwein 213, Union 243, Starmont 271

Medalist: Hannah Patrick (Oelwein) 47, Madeline McShane (Oelwein) 52