Despite COVID-19 challenges, Highland boys golfers have fall season to celebrate
When school started in August, the Highland boys golf team did not know whether they would be hitting balls on the golf course this fall due to the uncertainties the COVID-19 pandemic brought with the start of the school year.
Fast forward to late October and the Bulldogs can now look back at a season that included back-to-back Mississippi Valley Conference championships and consecutive IHSA regional titles.
“I knew going in they were going to be good,” Highland coach Brent James said. “It was just a matter of how good and can they keep it together (mentally) because golf is so hard to stay on top because you know you can have it one day and not the next. They worked hard and brought home a lot of awards this fall and it’s a testament to their hard work.”
HHS relied on a strong group of seven seniors including number No. 1 golfer Evan Sutton, Jake Brauns, Jaxton Black, Reid Koishor, Connor Reinarman, Connor Miller, and Cody Howard.
“Even though some of those guys you didn’t see on the roster day in and day out, they all were influential in getting the team to where we’ve been because nobody could get comfortable because there was someone right there (always) wanting their spot (in the rotation). And they all kind of pushed each other to get better,” James said.
Sutton, who is considering playing golf at schools such as SIU-Carbondale and Rose-Hulman next fall, was the team leader.
“Evan obviously played exceptionally well all year,” James said. ”He set a school record for a nine hole average at a 37.2 or + 1.9 strokes per nine holes. He was just kind of the cornerstone of the team and we kind of built around that and he set the tone in a lot of ways. He’s a very determined young man and that rubbed off on the other boys.”
Sutton started the season strong with medalist victories in the Alton Tee-Off Classic and Madison County Invitational in late August and continued to excel throughout the fall with top three or medalist finishes in every event the Bulldogs competed in.
For Sutton, his senior season — in spite of not having a state tournament to play in due to COVID-19 — ended up being the best campaign possible.
“This last season was, I would say, the best season,” Sutton said. “We were all experienced and the seven seniors on the team all got along well and it was just a fun season of playing together.”
Bulldogs enjoy several highlights this fall
Highland started the season red hot winning four of their first six matches, while placing second in the other two matches between Aug. 18 and Sept. 10.
“Coming into our senior year, we were just feeling it and were ready to go out there and shoot some good scores and get some wins,” Sutton said.
HHS won the Mississippi Valley Conference Tournament championship Sept. 23 with 313 score and then on Oct. 6 won a Class 2A regional championship at Mascoutah with a first place score of 336.
Highland captured consecutive MVC and regional championships for the first in school history, undoubtedly a special achievement for this group of Bulldogs.
“Just making school history, winning conference and regionals both back-to-back years, it’s really cool knowing that we were the first Highland team that has ever done that,” Sutton said.
HHS golfers finish second at sectional
The Bulldogs finished the season Oct. 13 with a second place finish behind Benton scoring a 336 in the Class 2A Centralia Sectional.
That would have been enough to qualify them into the state tournament in a normal season, but due to the restrictions of the pandemic, that was Highland’s final match this fall.
“This was the first year in like 30 years that the Highland golf team qualified for the state tournament,” Sutton said. “They luckily added our sectionals for us but no state.”
James credits the team’s mental toughness for allowing them to still have strong finishes late in the season even when some players were struggling with their individual games.
“That’s what put them over the top there was the fact that they were able stay tough mentally and hang on (in those situations),” James said.
Highland coach excited about next season
James looks for the Bulldogs to be competitive next year as well, as HHS will build around junior Bryce Knackstedt and sophomore Dominick Emig.
“Bryce and Dominick were very strong for us all year and they filled in right with those seniors working hard and continuing getting better,” James said. “We do have a lot of depth so if they put in the work between now and August we could be very strong again next year. It’s going to hinge on if we put the work in or not.”
This story was originally published October 21, 2020 at 10:22 AM.