Colby golfers dig into heart of regular season courses

By Nathaniel Underwood

The Colby golf team tested their mettle on two 18-hole courses over the past week, traveling to the Bloomer Veterans Memorial Golf Course last Friday before competing at Pine Valley Golf Course outside of Marathon on Monday.

Marathon Invitational

The Hornets took on 15 other schools on Monday in Marathon as they continued to settle into the season. Colby took 14th out of the 16 teams, finishing the day with a final team score of 431.

Medford edged out Rhinelander and Marathon for the top spot, finishing with a final score of 337 to the Hodags’ 345 and the Red Raiders’ 348. Colby fell short of Stanley- Boyd’s 425 team score but beat out Thorp and Phillips, both of whom finished with scores of 473.

Medford’s Connor Lingen cleared the field with his performance, finishing the 18-hole course with a score of 74 on the par 71 course. Dylan Dodson of Marathon and Austin Lamer of Tomahawk were the next closest athletes, both scoring 80.

While temperatures eventually crawled up to the high 50s, the day started in the low 40s, leading to the golfers having to contend with conditions typical for last April in Wisconsin. Brody Viegut had the Hornets best performance of the day, finishing 52nd with a score of 105 and just beating out Marathon’s Karson Huebsch and Stanley- Boyd’s Landen Fredrickson, who finished with 106 points.

Gavin Voss was not far behind in 57th, tying with Park Vruwink of Assumption with a final score of 108. Jacob Hoppe and Braiden Johnson tied for 59th with three other golfers, putting up scores of 109.

Rounding out the varsity competitors was Zander Engel, who posted a score of 121, good for 72nd.

Bloomer Invitational

Colby also took on the par-71, 18-hole course in Bloomer last Friday. The crowded field featured 23 different schools, of which the Hornets placed 19th.

The hosting Bloomer squad took first overall, finishing with a final score of 303 on their home course. Osceola took second with a score of 324 and Chetek-Weyerhaeuser placed third with 326 team points. Colby ended the day with 428 points, putting them between Stanley-Boyd’s 413 and Thorp’s 436.

Prescott’s Tyler Reiter won the individual competition, shooting one over par with a 72. Bloomer’s Tegan Stiehl and Connor Gould were right behind Reiter, both finishing with scores of 73.

The athletes had to deal with increasing average wind speeds as the day progressed, with lower 30 mph gusts being recorded as the meet slipped into the afternoon.

Braiden Johnson had the best day of the Hornets, finishing in the upper half with a final score of 91, tying himself with Logan Traynor of Saint Croix Central and Owen Gunderson of Altoona for 47th overall.

Brody Viegut also shot in double digits for Colby, ending the day with a final score of 98, good for 71st. Gavin Voss tied for 98th with a score of 112 and Jacob Hoppe took 113th with a score of 127.

LINING UP THE SHOT - Ivan Haemer takes careful aim while looking to get onto the putting green in Bloomer.

ROSS PATTERMANN/THE THORP COURIER

NICE AND EASY - Jacob Hoppe gets the ball into putting range during the Hornets’ trip to Bloomer last Friday. ROSS PATTERMANN/THE THORP COURIER