SCHS golfers finish 3rd in Bay

The Shawano Community High School boys golf team hung on to third place in the Bay Conference thanks to a third-place finish in the conference meet Tuesday at Brown County Golf Course in Hobart. “It’s great; that’s what we were going for today,” Shawano coach Dean Kugler said. “It would have been very difficult to overtake Marinette and New London coming in.” Marinette and New London tied for the conference lead with 30 points, with Marinette taking first and New London taking second Tuesday, edging out Shawano by just a stroke 336-335. Heading into the meet, Shawano and Oconto Falls were tied with 10 conference points each. With the third-place finish, the Hawks finished with 22 points for the season, edging out Oconto Falls (18). West De Pere, which finished fourth Tuesday, also pushed the Hawks, finishing tied with Oconto Falls for fourth. Hortonville finished in fifth with 14 points. “That third-place battle, it was us, Oconto Falls, Hortonville and West De Pere,” Kugler said. “They were all right on our tails.” The Hawks’ No. 3 and No. 4 golfers, senior Garret Schlise and junior Cole Huntington, respectively, had a major role in keeping Shawano in third. “Normally, we kind of hang our hats on Ian (Lewis) and Braden (Mueller), but today I think it was Garret and Cole,” Kugler said. “It was Garret and Cole’s show today. They really came up big.” Schlise tied with No. 2 golfer Braden Mueller with a round of 82 to lead the Hawks. “Garret showed what his potential is today,” Kugler said. “He played very well. If he doesn’t throw in an 82 like that, we probably would have been in a lot of trouble.” Senior Ian Lewis came in a stroke behind at 83. Huntington carded an 89. Ryan Hoffman shot a 94. “Fantastic finish for us,” Kugler said. The course was wet after a lot of rain Monday, but Kugler said his team wasn’t hindered by it. “The one thing you weren’t getting today was roll,” Kugler said. “You’d hit in the fairway and it would stop right there. The course played longer than it normally would. I was totally impressed with how my kids played with that.” New London’s Austin Elsner was the meet medalist, shooting 73. He was also the Bay Conference golfer of the year. The Hawks will play a round at Luxemburg-Casco on Friday, ahead of its WIAA Division 1 regional Tuesday at Reid Municipal Golf Course in Appleton.