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Dike-New Hartford, Tuesday, April 19

We had another overcast and cold day to contend with on Tuesday, April 19 at Fox Ridge Golf Course in Dike, but the winds were mild compared to recent meets. We brought in some steady scores but feel like we are 3 to 4 strokes a man from where we should be. With some good weather at home Thursday, April 21, we will try and see if we can get our breakout round of the year. Tonight we were led by Junior Joe Bistline who earned his first Medalist Honor with a round of 40. He was followed by Juniors Ty Lorenzen and Mack Schmitz who were two back with rounds of 42 and Seniors TJ Freeland and Josef Schmitz both brought in 43’s to round out our scoring.

Our JV squad may have been the story for the night. They shot a 190 and were led by Sophomore Sam Fehl who had a season low 44 and Freshmen Harrison Bistline brought in his best as well with a 47.

The girls team was able to improve 10 shots on their previous best team score of the year. Senior Sarah Michael brought in a solid round of 50, while another Senior, Belle Olson, continues to improve her game at a fast pace scoring a 54. Sophomore Sydney Schmuecker shot a 61 and Freshman Amelia Schmitz rounded us out with a 63. The goal at the beginning of the season was to break 220 at home. The temps look promising on Thursday, so we are going to give it a run and see if we can do it.

Boys Varsity

Union 167, DNH 172

Union: Bistline (Medalist) 40, Lorenzen 42, M. Schmitz 42, J. Schmitz 43

Girls Varsity

DNH 194, Union 228

Union: Jillian (Medalist) 44, Anna Syharath 49, Mary H 50, Whitney 51

Wapsie Valley, Thursday, April 21

The weather was ideal for our home meet with Wapsie Valley on Thursday, April 21. In the recent past it seems we haven’t really taken advantage when the weather breaks. Senior Josef Schmitz opened with a lost ball and triple bogey but righted the ship by shooting one over the rest of the way and earning Medalist Honors with a 39. Josef was one of our leaders in medals won last season, so it was good to see him break out with a good round. We will need his contributions as we approach the post season events. One shot back was his younger brother Junior Mack Schmitz who turned in another solid round for us and was able to edge Senior TJ Freeland out on the cardback for Runner-Up Medalist. Junior Joe Bistline had a rough start but battled the last few holes to shoot 42 and round out our scoring. We set a goal before the day to shoot somewhere in the mid 150’s and although we didn’t do that, we showed we could battle back which was good to see.

The Girls Team also earned a victory Thursday night improving their season record to 3-2. Sophomore Lydia Albertsen turned in a career low round of 53 from the 6 spot to earn Medalist Honors. It was her first medal as a player and the entire team was overjoyed for her. We look for continued good play from her throughout the rest of the season. Senior Sarah Michael turned in another good round earning Runner-Up Medalist with a 55. They were joined by Freshmen Amelia Schmitz who turned in a personal best round of 58 and Senior Belle Olson rounded us out with a 63. The girls still have two more meets at home this season with the goal of breaking 220.

Boys Varsity

Union 161, Wapsie Valley 177

Girls Varsity

Union 229, Wapsie Valley 247

Boys Triangular, Waterloo, April 22

On Friday, April 22, the boys team was added to the triangular between Waterloo Columbus, Aplington/Parkersburg, and Dike-New Hartford at Gates Golf Course in Waterloo. As a student athlete in Waterloo, Gates was always my favorite area course to play and our players seem to enjoy it as well. We tied our season low of 161 and were led by our #5 player on the night, junior Ty Lorenzen who shot a fine of 37. It’s always a great sign when you get outstanding play from someone at the end of your lineup which really helps to bolster your team score. Fellow junior Mack Schmitz turned in another solid round shooting a 40 helping add to his already impressive medal total for the season. Seniors TJ Freeland and Jackson Slater helped round out our scoring with rounds of 41 and 43 respectively. We will see these teams again at the conference meet early next month.

Boys Varsity

Union 161, A/P 170, DNH 175, Columbus 186

Medalist: Ty Lorenzen 37; Runner-Up Medalist Mack Schmitz 40

Grundy Center, April 23

On Saturday we played in the Spartan Invite at Grundy Center. It proved again why it is the most challenging course we play in any given year. Temperatures were mild to begin the morning, but storms moved in after a handful of holes and play was suspended for nearly an hour. When we got back out there the winds kicked up and the Grundy Center Town & Country Golf Course once again showed its teeth. After nine holes we were in second place by three shots over Hudson but they were able to brave the elements better than us on the back nine and edged us out by three. This is a similar margin to what it was last year when we played against them several times during the season. They made it to the state tournament and so we know we need to edge them later on this season at some point if we are going to make it back there ourselves. It’s evident that we need to improve around the greens if we are going to do that. We intend to work on that part of our game in the next couple of weeks to see if we are up to the challenge. Grundy Center seniors Dexter Whitehill and Ashton Martens turned in impressive rounds of 77 and 78 in the 35 mph winds to win Medalist and Runner-Up Medalist Honors. One good take away from the meet was the fact that five of our six golfers made the All-Tournament Team. Juniors Joe Bistline and Mack Schmitz carded rounds of 84, along with senior TJ Freeland. Senior Josef Schmitz and junior Ty Lorenzen shot 86 to grab the last two All-Tournament spots.

Final Results

Grundy Center 322, Hudson 335, Union 338, Osage 353, BCLUW 383, Iowa Falls 392, Roland Story 400, GMG 495