Soyez takes gold medal at Herington tourney

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN TOM STOPPEL & DON RATZLAFF
Elliott Soyez made his varsity debut with Hillsboro High School a memorable one by winning the individual title at the Herington Invitational Golf Meet April 4.

The Trojan freshman shot a 76 over 18 holes to tie Taylor Erickson of Herington and Travis Hett of Marion for the best score. Soyez won the gold medal on a scorecard playoff.

Soyez combined with an 84 from Andrew Bina to give Hillsboro second place in the two-man competition among 14 teams. Chase County won with a score of 156.

Goessel matched Hillsboro’s 160, but the Trojans were awarded second by virtue of having the lowest individual score.

Hillsboro sophomore Justin Kent turned in an strong performance as well, finishing fifth overall with a 78. He led the Trojans’ four-man team, which combined for a 431 that placed them 10th among 11 teams.

Also contributing to Hillsboro’s four-man score were Darren Enns (99), Zach Magnuson (127) and Daniel Miller (127).

“I was very pleased to see Elliot finish as the tournament champion,” Hillsboro coach Scott O’Hare said. “Obviously, it is exciting having a freshman win his first high school tournament.

“I was also pleased that Justin medalled in the top five after having kind of a tough start to the day,” he added.

“Andrew was pretty disappointed in the way he played. He had been playing very well in practicing leading up to this tournament, but struggled in this tournament.”

Fueled by Hett’s performance, Marion won the four-man title in an 11-team field with a 326, outdistancing runner-up Council Grove by 29 strokes.

In addition to Hett’s score, Luke Gordon shot an 81, Jake Bredemeier 83 and Keith Jones 86. Gordon’s score earned him 10th place individually.

“I thought we played very well, especially for the first competition of the season,” said Rex Ostmeyer, first-year golf. “If we can shoot 326 or better each and every meet, I will be pleased with that, especially as young as we are. Of course, there is always room for improvement.”

Ostmeyer said he was particularly happy with the play of Hett and Gordon.

“I was happy with Travis’s focus because he was put in a tough situation and he maintained his concentration and played pretty well,” Ostmeyer said. “Luke played well, and I was especially happy he came back strong on his second nine and improved by three shots.”

For Goessel, Zach Frey shot a 79 and Derek Brown an 81 for the Bluebirds’ third-place two-man team. The pair finished seventh and ninth, respectively, as individuals.

Goessel’s four-man team placed fifth at 390. Contributing to that score were Nate Ensz (90), Alex Drake (95), Cameron Voth (97) and Jake Schrag (108). Goessel’s combined six-man score of 550 placed them second among 10 teams at 550, only eight strokes behind Wichita Trinity.

Peabody-Burns and Centre also competed at the tournament. The Warriors’ two-man team of Jeremy Berger (94) and Joseph Zappone (99) combined for a score of 193, which placed them ninth. Contributing to the Warriors’ 11th-place four-man score were Anthony Jones (98), Brian Wingert (101), Travis Pohlman (109) and Thomas McGee (131).

For Centre, Kacey Wanschu shot a 121 and Andy Carlson a 139 for a two-man score of 260, which placed them 14th.

Contributing to the Cougars’ ninth-place four-man score of 424 were Andrew Donahue (94), Steve Hageburg (98), Joseph Stroda (109) and Tad Remy (123).

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