Hilltoppers claim second straight conference golf title

MONDOVI – The Glenwood City Golf team had to be wondering in mid-April if it would ever get the opportunity to defend its Dunn-St. Croix golf championship in 2013.

Mother Nature did finally cooperate, barely, allowing the five conference schools that sponsor golf to squeeze in six regular season meets and the 18-hole conference tournament in a short two-week period.

The Hilltoppers, after finishing third in the first conference meet on April 29, came on strong the rest of the way winning the five remaining meets and capped the regular season with a dominating 17-stroke, conference tournament win over runner-up Mondovi on its home course – The Valley Golf Club – Monday, May 13. The win at the 18-hole Dunn-St. Croix Conference tournament gave Glenwood City its second consecutive conference golf championship and only its third in school history.

Glenwood City finished with an 18-hole score of 333 at Monday’s conference, 11 strokes better than its winning performance at last year’s meet at Glen Hills. Mondovi shot a 350 for second place followed by Colfax with a 375, St. Croix Central at 377, and spring Valley with a 381.

Much like last year when the Toppers had four of the top five finishers, Glenwood City golfers claimed three of the top four individual spots at Monday’s conference tournament in Mondovi.

Sophomore Jake Hierlmeier finished second after he shot a 79 – just one stroke behind tournament medalist Hayden Ford of Mondovi – to become the second straight Hilltopper golfer to claim the Dunn-St. Croix’s individual medalist honors in as many years. Last year, Nick Mrdutt won that award.

Teammate and senior Zach Schemionek finished third in the overall medalist standings with an 81 while his sibling, freshman Garret Schemionek carded an 84 to take fourth. Junior Nick Mrdutt (89) and his younger brother Nathan Mrdutt (90), also a freshman, ended up eighth and ninth respectively.

Glenwood City had a strong showing on the first nine hole as it shot for a 162 led by Jake Hierlmeier. The sophomore was solid throughout Monday’s conference tournament in Mondovi as he shot a 39 on the first nine holes and followed it with a 40 on the back nine for his 79-stroke total. Senior Zach Schemionek was right on Hierlmeier’s heels as he carded a 40 on the front nine and a 41 over the final nine to finish in third place with an 81. Freshman Garret Schemionek has showed a lot of potential this spring and that continued Monday in Mondovi as he matched his brother Zach’s front nine score of 40 and added a 44 in the back half to complete the day with a final tally of 84 strokes. After shooting a high of 47 in the first half of the tournament, Nick Mrdutt rebounded to card a 42 in the back nine to tally an 89. Just one stroke back, Nathan Mrdutt rounded out the Toppers’ varsity five with a score of 90 (43-47).

The Hilltoppers, who entered Monday’s conference tournament with 28 points (five more than second-place Mondovi) picked up ten (10) points to finish atop the conference standings with 38 points. Mondovi retained second with 31 points, Spring Valley finished third with 21 points. St. Croix Central tallied 19 points to take fourth, and Colfax finished fifth with 13 points.

Jake Hierlmeier (67 points) and Zach Schemionek (47 points) earned first team all-conference distinction. Hierlmeier was first-team selection a year ago with Schemionek making the second team. Nick and Nathan Mrdutt earned second team all-conference honors with 25 and 23 points respectively.

The Hilltoppers will now prepare for the WIAA Division 3 Regional meet at Whitetail near Colfax on Wednesday, May 22. The top four teams along with the top four individuals from non-qualifying teams will then advance to the sectional tournament at Turtleback Golf Course in Rice Lake on Tuesday, May 28.

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT TEAM SCORES: 1. Glenwood City, 333 (10 pts.); 2. Mondovi, 350 (8); 3. Colfax, 375 (13); 4. St. Croix Central, 377 (19); 5. Spring Valley, 381 (21).

ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS

First Team: Jake Hierlmeier, GC; Hayden Ford, MON; Zach Schemionek, GC; Dillon Lloyd, COL; Jacob Richardson, SV.

Second Team: Jake Bonte, SCC; Colin Comerford, MON; Nick Mrdutt, GC; Nathan Mrdutt, GC; Jason Richardson, SV.

GC linksters first in Spring Valley

The Hilltoppers ended their regular season with a first place finish at the Spring Valley golf course last Thursday. Despite the rain and cold, the Toppers still had three golfers finish in the top ten with Hierlmeier as the team’s medalist after he shot a nine-hole round of 40.

Shooting for the rest of the varsity team were Schemionek with a 45, Nathan Mrdutt with a 46, Johnson with a 47 and Nick Mrdutt with a 50.

The junior varsity team did very well also with Garret Schemionek (43), Tyler Nueske (44) and Alex Little (48) placing in the top three. Jaden Newton took sixth with a 51 and Elizabeth Nyhus placed 12th with a 60.