Colfax, Elk Mound finish fifth and sixth at conference golf meet

by Samuel Ripp

COLFAX — The Colfax and Elk Mound golf teams wrapped up their respective 2016 regular seasons where they began – at Whitetail.

A month and a half after teeing off the season on their home course, the Vikings’ and Mounders’ regular seasons came full circle when they competed in the Dunn-St. Croix Golf Tournament Tuesday, May 17 at Whitetail Golf Course. It was the ninth and final conference contest, hosted by Elk Mound, as well as the regular season finale before the WIAA tournament which began yesterday (Tuesday, May 24).

As they have throughout D-SC play, the two area schools found themselves at the bottom of the standings. Colfax finished fifth with a score of 379 in the 18-hole tournament while Elk Mound came in sixth after shooting a 432. The Vikings also finished fifth in the final conference standings with 20 points. The Mounders, meanwhile, placed sixth with 12 points.

The points are based on a team’s placement at the eight conference meet and the year-end conference tournament. Six points are awarded for a first-place finish in each meet, five for second, four for third and so forth. Points are doubled for the conference tournament.

Spring Valley won the conference tournament with a score of 336 but finished second overall behind the Mondovi Buffaloes, who claimed their second consecutive Dunn-St. Croix Conference golf championship on a beautiful, sunny day at Whitetail. Mondovi finished second on the day, 10-shots off the Cardinals pace, but won six meets on the season to take the title with a tally of 56 points. Spring Valley finished with 54 points to finish as the runner-up for a second straight season.

Glenwood City shot a 350 to take third followed by Durand (371), Colfax and Elk Mound

In the final standings, Durand was third with 36 points and Glenwood City was fourth with 33 points.

In the individual race, Hilltoppers’ senior Nathan Mrdutt finished with the top score at the Tuesday’s conference tournament. Mrdutt carded a 77 on the par-71 course to take medalist honors, besting runner-up Jason Richardson of Spring Valley by one stroke.

Colfax senior Trevor Seston shot an 82 to finish tied for fourth at the conference tournament. That result coupled with his other D-SC meets, earned Seston a spot on the all-conference second team. He was the lone area golfer to achieve the honor.

Colfax 

The Colfax golf team finished fifth overall on the day with a total of 379 strokes as a team. The Vikings were lead by senior Trevor Seston as he tallied a 82 on the afternoon to finish in a fourth-place tie in the conference tournament’s individual standings. Seston had a birdie and nine pars as he shot a 42 on the front nine and a 40 on the back nine.

Senior Trey Guillickson finished second on the team for Colfax with a 90 on the day, shooting 45s on both the front and back holes of the course. Just a few shots behind Guillickson was fellow senior Brett Prince, who had a 92. Prince shot a 47 on the front nine but cut a couple of strokes off on the back nine to get a 45..

Rounding out the varsity team for the Vikings was senior Andy Buckley with a 115 and sophomore Richard Stehling with a 118.

Elk Mound 

The Mounders finished in last place on the day with a total of 432 strokes and 53 strokes back from Colfax in fifth. The Mounders are a young team and will keep improving in the coming years as their players gain more experience.

Elk Mound was lead by junior Jameson Rubenzer with a 99 on the day. Rubenzer just missed second team All Conference honors as he finished 11th in the overall individual standings. Rubenzer was also the only Mounder under 100 strokes on the course. He had a 49 on the first nine and finished the back nine with a 50.

Following Rubenzer was freshman Maxwell Marquardt with a 107 and a few strokes behind was senior teammate Colin Svee with a 110.

Finishing the varsity squad for Elk Mound was freshman Dillon McLaughlin with a 116 and sophomore Nathaniel Schreiber with a 160.

The Colfax golf team will compete in the WIAA Division 3 Cadott Regional at Whispering Pines Golf Course on Wednesday, May 25.

Elk Mound played in the Division 2 Black River Falls Regional the previous day, Tuesday, May 24, at Skyline Golf Course.

The top four teams and the top four individuals from non-qualifying teams will advance to sectional play on May 31 and June 1. The state tournament will be held on the Ridges Golf Course in Madison on June 6 and 7.