Hawks finish 7th, Red Raiders 9th at Oneida Classic

The Shawano and Pulaski boys golf teams each competed in the Oneida Classic on May 2 at Oneida Golf and Country Club in Green Bay, placing seventh and ninth, respectively.

Shawano earned a team score of 337 for its seventh-place finish. Pulaski came in ninth with its score of 352.

De Pere and West De Pere each had scores of 313 to finish as the top teams. Ashwaubenon posted a 326, Bay Port a 331 and two Notre Dame teams had 332s to fill out the top five. Green Bay Preble was eighth with a mark of 342, while Seymour and Green Bay Southwest rounded things outs with scores of 391 and 406, respectively.

Even though it finished outside the top five with its team score, Shawano had two golfers place among the top 10 individuals. Kaden Marcell fired an 18-hole round of 76 to take fifth outright, while Owen Moesch tied for 10th with a round of 79.

“I feel like today what kept my round going was my confidence level and my mental game,” said Marcell. “I never really got down on myself today and when I did, I got right back into it. My putting was the strong suit today, also.”

“Today, I was able to hit around 50% of greens in regulation and around 62% of fairways off the tee,” said Moesch. “So, I would say that my accuracy off the tee and my ability to give myself birdie putts by hitting greens in regulation allowed me to place as well as I did.”

Akrin Verhein fired a round of 88 for the Hawks. Gage Gorman carded a 94 and Ayden Hale a 99 to round out the five-golfer team.

“I feel like this gives our team a very good idea of what regionals will look like and what it will take to advance,” said Marcell, who added the classic was beneficial in preparing the team for 18-hole meets and what challenges those meets present.

“My team and I learned that every stroke is important and contributes equally among ourselves,” said Moesch. “Even though all five guys may not be playing well, every stroke from every person on the team is critical for us to place well in meets. We will definitely take that thought in consideration when playing in upcoming matches.”

Colin Schultz was Pulaski’s top finisher at the classic, firing a round of 83. He credited his chipping for helping him to the strong round.

Dylan Carley was second on the team with a round of 86.

“The first nine holes, I really had a tough time hitting my irons from 150 yards in,” said Carley. “I really had to get my head in the game if I wanted to turn in a score to help out my team.

“On my eighth hole, I turned things around with the first par of the day. With this first par under my belt I was able to turn my bogeys from the previous holes into pars, turning my score around.”

Connor Burant carded a round of 90 for the Red Raiders, while Dixon Holewinski was three shots back at 93. Zachary Valeria was the fifth golfer on the team, posting a score of 98.

Unlike Shawano’s lineup that boasted five seniors, Pulaski’s included no seniors and just one junior.

“The team learned that nothing is going to come easy,” said Schultz.

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