Season under way for prep linksters
The 2025 prep boys golf season is now under way. There have been three meets in the Western Clovebelt Conference (WCC) so far and three in the Dairyland Conference (DC).
The first meet in the WCC was played at Hickory Hills Golf Course in Eau Claire back on April 8. The meet was easily won by Bloomer, establishng the Blackhawks as the team to beat not just in the WCC but the whole Clovebelt Conference as they shot a nine-hole score of 157 followed by Cadott 167, Stanley Boyd 185, Chippewa Falls McDonell/Eau Claire Regis 188 and Fall Creek 194.
Despite the team score, FCHS junior and returning letterman Evan Seidling tied for meet medalist honors with a score of 37 next to Bloomer junior Tegan Steihl. Steihl's teammate senior Marik Hunter was tied for second with a score of 29 along with Cadott senior Parker Davis and his sophomore teammate Brady Goettl. Bloomer junior Bodie Baribeau was third with a score of 40.
Other FC golfers were seniors Ty Costley and Quinn Kinderman, both with 52s, junior Ben Raap with a 53 and senior Maezee Schulner, 68.
Bloomer hosted the next WCC meet on April 10 at Veterans' Memorial Golf Club. The Blackhawks didn't shoot quite as well in the season's first meet but it was still a solid 170 to finish first in the team standings followed by McDonell/Regis 180, Cadott 181, Stanley-Boyd 188 and Fall Creek 223.
Seidling shot a 52 in this meet tied with Costley while Simon Manning shot a 57, Kinderman a 62 and Owen Walden a 68 for the Crickets. Baribeau won meet medalist honors with first place 39 followed by Steihl with a 40 and Hunter, McDonell/Regis sophomore Jake Rubenzer both shooting 42s to finish third.
Meet No. 3 for the WCC was at Lake Wissota Golf Course in Chippewa Falls and Bloomer again won first place with a score of 161 followed by Cadott 170, McDonell/Regis 181, Stanley-Boyd 188 and Fall Creek 202.
Seidling shot a 45 to lead FCHS' team score with Raap shooting a score 50, junior Charlie Engel a 53, Costley 54 and Manning 58. The meet was won individually by Steihl with a score of 37, while Goettl shot a 40 and four players tied for third with 41s.
The first Dairyland Conference meet was to be at Osseo Golf Course back on April 8 but with Augusta failing to field a team, the first meet was held on April 10 in Arcadia hosted by Independence/Gilmanton. Defending champion Cochrane-Fountain City won the nine-hole meet with a score of 159 followed by Eleva-Strum 174, new member Osseo-Fairchild 183, Whitehall 231 and both Indy/Gilmanton and Alma/Pepin incompletes.
E-S junior and returning letterman Garrett Gullicksrud was the meet medalist with the low score of 33. Freshman Ty Skoyen, golfing for Osseo-Fairchild, tied for third with a score of 38 with defending conference individual champ, C-FC senior Cameron Lipinski. A/P junior Trent Krzoska was second with a score of 37. The Pirates placed all five of their golfers in the top 10 establishing them as the team to beat in the DC this spring.
Other Tri-County Area golfers competing were O-F junior Orion Prudlick, 45; senior teammates and additional returning lettermen Graysen Stahlheim and Jack Steinke, 50s; sophomore Mason Knudtson, 55; E-S freshman Cashton Kulig with a 45, junior Camryn Burback 47, freshman Hunter Pederson 49 and senior Kyla Spangberg 56.
On Thursday, April 15 in Arcadia hosted by Blair-Taylor, C-FC was the winner again, shooting a 153 followed by Alma/Pepin 166; Eleva-Strum 168, Blair-Taylor 171; Osseo-Fairchild 179, Whitehall 200 and Independence/Gilmanton 222. Gullicksrud was the meet medalist with a score of 34 followed by C-FC' sophomore Parker Kujak with a 37 and Lipinski 38. Other Tri-County Area individuals who were in the top 10 in order of placement: Central senior Nic Ellis seventh, 40; Skoyen, 10th, 42.
Ellis and Lipinski tied for first in a DC meet hosted by Eleva-Strum at Viking Recreation Area in Strum. Both shot 38s with Gullicksrud next with a 42. C-Fc won the meet with a score of 163 to the Cardinals' 188 while O-F was fourth shooting a 200
Osseo will get its chance to host a DC meet this Tuesday, April 22 beginning at 4 p.m. The next WCC meet is not until the 24th in Cadott, also beginning at 4 p.m.
