ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DON RATZLAFF
Facing perhaps its toughest competition of the season, the Hillsboro High School golf team finished ninth in the 10-team Wichita Collegiate Invitational April 20 at Hidden Lakes Golf Course in Wichita.
The Trojans found themselves in a field with only two other Class 3A schools, which happened to be Collegiate and Hesston, two of the top teams in the 3A. The rest of the teams were good teams from Class 4A and 5A.
Hillsboro finished with a four-man score of 355, 46 strokes off the pace set by Buhler.
Phillip Thiessen carded a 77 to pace the Trojans and placed seventh as an individual. Jesse Schulte of Buhler was the top medalist, shooting par golf with a 72.
Hillsboro’s Adam Woods followed Thiessen with an 88, Chuck Bina dropped to a 92, and Ryan Fields filled out the card with a 98. Also playing for HHS were Erik Roble with a 106 and Billy Winegarner with a 116.
“Getting four scorers is going to be a big goal for us,” said coach Scott O’Hare. “They’re just not putting it all together on the same day.
“This was probably our toughest tournament of the year,” he added. “You won’t see many high school tournaments where you barely make the top 10 with a 77.”
O’Hare said the next three tournaments will be key for his team. On Friday, the Trojans compete in Salina at the Sacred Heart tournament and then travel to Hesston May 1, followed by a tournament at Cheney May 3.
“The Sacred Heart tournament is a tournament we’ve won the past two years,” he said. “Our kids have shot well there in the past. I’m looking for Adam (Woods) to have a break-out day for us. Phillip and Chuck have shot in the top 10 in a couple of tournaments, and Adam is capable of doing that, too. He’s a long-ball hitter and that’s a long-ball course.”
