Highland boys golfers advance in postseason, while Lady Bulldogs’ season comes to end
They did not come away with an individual champion this time around, but the Highland boys golf team still found a way to come out on top in regional play.
On Tuesday, the Bulldogs ground their way through fast, firm greens at Orchard Golf Club in Belleville and outworked Mississippi Valley Conference rival Mascoutah for the IHSA Class 2A Mascoutah Regional championship.
Highland claimed the regional title with a team-low score of 336 while second place Mascoutah shot a 346. Under this year’s format, only Highland and Mascoutah advance to the Class 2A Centralia Sectional on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
“The boys took home the championship and that course is tough, firm and fast with OB putts on every hole, so it was one of our highest scores of the year. But we knew going in that it would be a grind and a test of our mental toughness and I was pretty pleased with the way the boys handled it,” Highland coach Brent James said. “It was a pressure-cooker out there.”
Evan Sutton led Highland once again as he finished second overall with a solid 77.
“I was really impressed,” James said of Sutton’s 77. “He was kind of battling through three weeks ago, but I think (today) he put together a pretty good number.”
Sutton finished just three strokes behind individual champion Nate Rakers of Breese Central, who claimed the individual crown with a 74.
Behind Sutton were strong finishes by Bryce Knackstedt and Jake Brauns, who finished ninth and 11th overall, respectively. Knackstedt shot an 85 and Brauns fired a round of 86.
“It was a grind out there and it would be kind of easy to give up or think ‘oh my goodness’ ... but 85, 86, those are strong numbers on that course today,” James said.
Other results for Highland
Jaxton Black finished 19th with an 88, Dominick Emig placed 29th with a 91, and Reid Koishor shot a 97 to help HHS hold off Mascoutah.
James said the numbers did not tell the whole story of the regional.
“Don’t let the number fool ya,” James said. “They played well, they had big holes here and there and there were bad plays. But they didn’t let those bad plays get in their head and compound it into something worse and they just kept plugging along.”
Now the Bulldogs will turn their attention to the Class 2A sectional.
“For four of the guys, that’s familiar territory where we played our regional last year, so they’re hoping they can definitely rekindle some good memories from last year,” James said.
Highland girls golf season ends at regional
While the boys’ season continued with another regional title, the Lady Bulldogs had to settle for an end to the season Wednesday.
Highland’s girls finished in sixth place at the IHSA Class 1A Alton Marquette Regional at Spencer T. Olin Golf Course in Alton with a score of 415. Highland missed being one of the top two regional finishers that qualify for sectionals.
It was a an emotional day for the Lady Bulldogs as they struggled on the long and challenging course.
“The girls struggled a little bit today (with the course),” Highland coach Ashley DeSelm said. “Being it was a regional tournament at that course, it was just real difficult with like 10 bunkers on each hole and with really difficult pin placements. It’s just real hard to place shots there.”
Senior’s career comes to a close
Even more disappointing than not having the team qualify was not getting at least one individual through the regional. Senior standout Claire Korte’s season came to an untimely end on the unforgiving course as she shot a 96, which missed the individual cut.
“I really though Claire was going to come through and get that fourth individual spot but she had to finish out with a bogey on a hole and she ended up getting a higher (score) than that so she was pretty upset,” DeSelm said. “It was a hard day for us.”
DeSelm still was pleased with Korte’s final performance as a Lady Bulldog golfer.
“She was a senor and she wanted to go through to sectionals and I’m really proud of how she’s played throughout the season. And she worked very, very hard and you know luck isn’t always on your side,” DeSelm said.
Brooke Hunsche followed Korte with a 103, Lilly Barker fired a 107, and Kailei Gould and Raeghan Hinrichs both shot a 109 to finish out the regional round for the Lady Bulldogs.
HHS girls coach pleased with season
Despite the tough finish to the postseason, DeSelm gave credit to her players for grinding through a challenging schedule that tested the players’ skills and mental toughness.
“I’m very proud of my girls this year,” DeSelm said. “They had an amazing team and worked very hard and we passed a lot of our goals that we had set for each other and they did that this year. So I’m super happy with the girls even though we ended (the season) the way we did. It’s been a fun year.”