Glenwood City boys’ golf team finishes second at sectional, earns state tournament berth

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by Dave Popko

GC Head Golf Coach

RICE LAKE — The Glenwood City Hilltopper golf team had advanced to sectionals after finishing in third place at the Cadott regional with a 386 average. The team moved forward to play at the Chetek-Weyerhaeuser Sectional at Turtleback Golf Course in Rice Lake last Tuesday, May 31st. The team entered the sectional as a sixth-place seed out of twelve teams. 

The teams started the day in waves and the Hilltoppers had a 10:10 a.m. tee-off time for their first golfer and freshman, Charlie Lamb. The Hilltoppers were joined on the tee with two other teams that had finished third in their respective sectional, Mellen and Turtle Lake/Clayton. 

The course conditions were quite sunny, but exceptionally windy for Turtleback and the boys immediately knew that they would be facing a remarkably challenging day. Nevertheless, they made excellent use of their time on the practice range and the putting green – which ended up paying off big for them, according to second-year varsity coach, David Popko. “The wind was going to be a factor for all the teams, so we knew that we just had to use our preparation to perform to the best of our ability.” 

The Hilltoppers were joined in the field by nine other teams besides their playing partners: Ladysmith, Prentice, Luck/Frederic, Osseo-Fairchild, Hurley, Cadott, Eleva-Strum, Flambeau, and Birchwood. The field also had a number of individual athletes competing to advance on their own. The total playing field, then, was over seventy golfers.

The Toppers started out putting up some good numbers on the front nine, with senior Owen Swenby posting a 2nd best 41 and junior Ian Radintz carding a solid 44. The three remaining golfers, Lamb as well as junior Gabe Knops and freshman Esdyn Swenby, all came in with a score of 52. 

According to Popko, “the team was in good shape at the turn. We knew that the teams later in the day would score better, so we anticipated Owen and Ian being competitive for an individual place.” At a WIAA sectional for golf, the lowest two teams move on to state and the remaining best three individuals not on those teams move on as well. 

The back nine ended up making all the difference for the team as they worked to earn a competitive place going forward. As coaches Popko and Rachael Nied pointed out, “we did our best to not put up any remarkably rough numbers. When we got to hole 14, we realized that we would have a significant chance of moving on.” After nine holes, the Toppers were only two strokes out of second place, as each of the teams struggled to work through the wind and the more challenging back nine. As Popko put it, “I went around and asked each of the players to play conservatively and focus on minimizing foolish choices.”

The Toppers finished the admittedly more challenging back nine with Owen Swenby shooting a 48 to have a total of an 89, Ian Radintz carded a 47 to reach a score of 91, Gabe Knops broke fifty by posting a 49 to earn a 101, Esdyn Swenby shot the same score on the back nine of 52 to earn a 104, and Charlie Lamb worked through the back nine to get a 57, scoring a 109. This meant that the Toppers had a cumulative score (dropping the highest) of 385. Considering the season average has been a score of 193 per 9 holes, the Toppers essentially shot their average at 192.5 per nine holes. 

Because the team had teed off earlier in the day, they now had to wait to determine if they would have any individuals would advance. There were still ten groups of golfers to finish their rounds, so the team took a seat at the top of 18 and watched the remaining play for about an hour.

When the dust settled, it was a hard fought competition for second place. Ladysmith earned first place with an average of 362 led by their freshman Dane Prohaska with an 81. Coming in with an 84, freshman Bryce Killoren for Chetek-Weyerhaeuser earned himself a trip to state. As GC waited for the scores to arrive, it was clear the team had a chance. Ultimately, Glenwood City’s 385 held up as the next best competition, Prentice, posted a 390. 

By finishing second in the Turtleback sectional, Glenwood City had therefore advanced to State Golf. While the results were at first unexpected, Popko pointed out that “we shot our calm, normal rounds of golf and ultimately that was enough for us to move on despite really bad wind.” He went on to say that “standout performances from Owen Swenby and Ian Radintz and a well-managed round by Gabe Knops helped the team out immensely.” Additionally advancing to State from the sectional were senior Joe Hueckman from Prentice and junior Dominic Croci from Hurley.

The Toppers advanced to the State Golf Tournament at Black Wolf Run which was held this past Monday and Tuesday(June 6 & 7) in Kohler, Wisconsin. The tournament featured eight teams in division three who the Toppers  competed against on what Golf Digest referred to as “one of the top one hundred golf courses in America.” The competition features 18 holes played on Monday afternoon and another 18 holes on Tuesday morning. 

The team will face stiff competition from some of the best golfers in the state. The other teams advancing in division three are: Cambridge, Kohler, Mineral Point, Lancaster, Marathon, and Wabeno/Laona. There are also 12 other competitors joining the field individually.

As the coach describes it, “it has been a great experience and it shows the team that they should keep on fighting to do their very best. We were sixth seed in the sectional and we moved on. I give the boys the same message at state. People may not expect us, but that just takes the pressure off. If we keep our focus and push to succeed, we will be in great shape.”