The Becker Bulldog golf teams are into the full swing of the spring season, with the girls picking up an early season Mississippi 8 Conference win, while the boys are working towards consistency on the course.
Last Thursday, the girls team traveled to Monticello for the first conference match and came away as the champions by firing a round of 377, a full 17 strokes better than second place Cambridge-Isanti.
“This was a big conference win for the Lady Bulldogs,” Coach Anna Babler said.
Bulldog Ashley Reed placed 2nd overall with a round of 89, while teammate Emma Benson fired a 91, good enough for 3rd. Other scorers were: Gretchen Graftaas 98 (10th place), Layla Mathews 99 (11th place), Kylee Rick 107 (20th place) and Alexa Voller 107 (21st place). The huge win puts the girls in the lead after the first conference match, although the schedule heats up in the next several weeks with more consistent matches and better weather expected.
Boys
Last Thursday, the boys team hosted a competition at Pebble Creek and faced some early season jitters, finishing in 10th place on their home course with a round of 364. Detroit Lakes was the winner, shooting a total score of 306.
“We struggled on our home course,” Coach Dan Olson said. “A lot of mental mistakes made by players, but understandable as it was our first competitive meet of the season.”
Zach Stanz paced the team with a round of 82, good enough for 17th place.
Monticello
Monday, the boys traveled to Monticello for a competition and again faced some inconsistencies in their swings en route to a round of 361. Maple Grove was the winning team with 303 total strokes.
“Players had some stretches of good golf mixed in with a few blow up holes,” Olson said. “I need to get them to limit the damage on their bad holes.”
Stanz again led the effort with a round of 84, while the rest of the team showed a bit more consistency: Matthew Martindale 91, Ethan Tobako 93,Tucker Rhodes 93, Brock Ramola 93 and Grayson Kipka 94.
M8
Tuesday, the boys opened up conference play with a match in Chisago Lakes and the Bulldogs showed some signs of strong improvement, lowering their score to a total of 350 strokes, good enough for 5th place.
“Another cold day for golf, but not an excuse as all teams played the same course and conditions,” Olson said. “The boys are better golfers than their scores are showing.”
Princeton paced the M8 teams, placing first with a score of 311 strokes and setting the standard for the Bulldogs to aim for in the next several meets.
Stanz was again the leader for the Bulldogs, shooting a round of 82, while Matthew Martindale finished 14th overall with a round of 86. Other scorers included: Grayson Kipka 89, Ethan Tobako 93, Tucker Rhodes 99 and Brock Ramola 102.
Despite some of the early struggles, Olson is confident that his team can get back on track and shoot the scores each player is capable of on any given day.
“We are going to have to go back to the basics at practice to see if we can cut out the big numbers that seem to be plaguing our rounds,” Olson said.
The Bulldogs were scheduled to continue play Thursday at Bullrush for their second M8 meet and then Rich Springs on Friday for a dual meet against Moorhead.
