Hillsboro golfers battle in 3 meets

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DON RATZLAFF
Playing on the toughest course, against the toughest competition, and with some of the toughest weather conditions imaginable, Hillsboro coach Scott O’Hare was grateful his team even survived the Nickerson Invitational Golf Tournament on Monday.

The 21-team event, which attracts some of the best schools in Class 3A and 4A, was played at hilly Highlands Golf Course near Hutchinson amid constant drizzle and rain showers.

“It was interesting to say the least,” O’Hare said. A local professional, watching radar all day, thought the rain would pass. But it never did.

“Aside from it all, to be quite honest I was pleased with the way we played,” O’Hare said. “When you recognize the inexperience (of the Trojan golfers), the difficulty of the course, the weather-the scores at first glance don’t look good. But in comparison, they weren’t that bad.”

Ryan Fields led the Trojans with a 107. He was followed by Billy Winegarner at 110, Lance Bartel with a 113, and Jordan Allen at 137.

“Ryan’s not pleased with a 107, and a lot of these guys won’t be pleased with their scores,” O’Hare said. “But when you consider the course and the conditions, a 107 is certainly going to be middle of the pack if not upper-middle.”

Randy Klassen, the Trojans’ No. 3 golfer, had to withdraw from competition because of weather-related chills after shooting a 59 through the first nine holes.

“I only took five kids, and they take your best four scores,” O’Hare said. “By pulling (Klassen) out, that’s going to make our team score look a little worse than it could have been.

“I told them afterward that if you made it through this tournament, under these conditions, there shouldn’t be too much to complain about at any other tournament we play,” O’Hare said.

Team scores and the results from other area teams were not available at press time.

Hillsboro Invitational

Playing in near ideal conditions, Hillsboro golfers finished in the middle of the pack of at its own 11-team invitational Friday at the Hillsboro Municipal Golf Course.

The Trojans’ two-man team of Ryan Fields (95) and Billy Winegarner (98) finished with a combined score of 193 to finish seventh.

Hillsboro’s four-man team of Randy Klassen (104), Jordan Allen (108), Lance Bartel (102) and Michael Fisher (119) combined for a 433, good for sixth place.

The Trojans’ six-man score of 626 also placed them sixth.

Marion’s two-man team of Nickolas Hett (81) and Joey Buchholz (84) placed third at 165, nine strokes off Chapman’s winning score.

Peabody’s team of Nolan Hurst (84) and Chad Carr (90) placed fifth at 174. Goessel’s team of Kent Peters (97) and Kelcy Voth (111) placed 10th. Centre’s Nathan Banner (120) and Todd Beneke (121) finished 11th.

In four-man competition, Centre (Chris Peterson 95, Derek Belton 97, Andy Matz 94, Dusty Caldwell 90) finished second at 376, two strokes off Hesston’s winning score.

Marion (David Tharp 92, Brent Cleeton 102, Nick Carlson 95, Justin Brookens 98) placed fourth with a score of 387. Goessel (Tyler Huntley 95, Dustin Spoonemore 103, Jeremy Voth 116, Jake Unruh 128) placed seventh at 442. Peabody (Chad Litton 100, Bryan Swenson 95, Tyler Litton 127, Zach Dameron 135) placed eighth at 457.

In six-man, Marion placed second, six strokes behind Hesston, at 552, Centre was fifth at 617, Peabody seventh at 631 and Goessel eighth at 650.

In the competition for individual medals, Hett placed fourth, six strokes behind Miguel Caseras of St. John’s. Hurst placed eighth and Buchholz finished ninth.

Centre Invitational

The weather was cold, but the Marion golfers were hot, sweeping team honors at the Centre Invitational Golf Tournament played last Tuesday in Herington.

The Warriors won the two-man, four-man and six-man titles in the 12-school field. Sixty-six golfers competed.

Nicholas Hett carded an 83 and Joey Buchholz a 91 to win the two-man competition with a score of 174-six strokes ahead of Burrton.

Nick Carlson chipped in a 91, Evan Sharp and David Tharp both turned in a 92, and Brent Cleeton a 95 to give the Warriors a four-man score of 370 and an 18-stroke margin over second-place Centre (Andy Matz 88, Dusty Caldwell 91, Chris Peterson 100, Ryan Makovec 109).

Marion’s winning six-man score was 544, a whopping 68 strokes better than runnersup Burrton and Council Grove.

Nathan Ratzlaff of Burrton won medalist honors with an 81. Also winning a medal as a top-10 finisher were Hett, who placed third, Miller fourth, Matz fifth, Caldwell sixth, Carlson seventh, Buchholz eighth and Sharp 10th.

Hillsboro was led by Ryan Fields, who tied for 10th and could have medaled with a 92, but placed 13th in a scorecard playoff. Teammate Billy Winegarner tied for 19th with a 96. The duo registered a two-man score of 188, which placed them fourth.

Three other Trojan golfers participated, but Hillsboro was one golfer short of designating a four-man team. Randy Klassen (23rd overall) carded a 97, Jordan Allen (34th) a 104, and Lance Bartel (46th) a 108.

Goessel, with a score of 394, placed third in the four-man race. Jeremy Miller led his team with an 87, followed by Zac Church 96, Ben Schmidt 103 and Kent Peters 108.

The Bluebirds’ Tyler Huntley and Dustin Spoonemore finished with a 108 and 117, respectively, to give Goessel a two-man score of 225 and a six-man score of 619.

Peabody-Burns also competed in the tournament. Nolan Hurst led his team with a 97, followed by Bryan Swenson 106, Chad Litton 109, Brandon Crabtree 115, Tyler Litton 117 and Jessie Barnhardt 125.

Coming-Hillsboro has junior varsity tournaments coming April 16 at Marion and April 18 at Hesston. The Trojans won’t play another varsity tournament until April 19 at Wichita Collegiate.

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