Waiting for the rest of his team to turn in their score cards on the ninth green at Lake of the Woods golf course, sophomore Jack Knoesel finished first out of the varsity golf team. After shooting a fairly high 42 as the leader of the pack, Knoesel was disappointed in the first match of the season against Hickman but content with the win over the Kewpies, he said.
“Nothing special, tough day, at least for me, [it’s] not the way I wanted to start out the year,” Knoesel said. “I shot 42 obviously, [and I’m] very disappointed in how I played. I’m pretty sure I got third [among the other players], and we killed Hickman.”
Finishing with a team score of 163 over Hickman’s 186, even though Knoesel’s score wasn’t what he had hoped for, boys golf’s continuous wins by a comfortable margin could lead to a trip to the state championships once again. However, Knoesel doesn’t believe this match was representative of what the team is capable of, he said.
“I think we have a strong team and this wasn’t really an accurate measuring stick because it was the first match and all,” he said. “We will get a good indicator after spring break in the [Columbia] Classic,” which took place at A.L. Gustin golf course April 1.
With a varsity led by Knoesel, followed by sophomores Matt Echelmier who shot a 41 and Ben Humphreys who shot a 40, junior Jackson Dubinski shooting 45 and senior Tyler Bales with a 41, this team has nowhere to go but up with younger players continuing to improve.
“We will bring a bunch of talent to the table,” Knoesel said. “We just have to play that way.”
By Kaitlyn Marsh