Another Thursday means another school record for New Richmond girls golf team

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If it’s a Thursday, the New Richmond girls golf team must be setting another team record.

On each of the past two Thursdays the Tigers lowered their school record score for a nine-hole round. They shaved the record to 168 last Thursday when they won a Middle Border Conference match at Krooked Kreek Golf Club in Osceola. The previous Thursday the Tigers set a record by shooting 170 at Pheasant Hills Golf Club in Hammond.

Sophomore Alex Wheeler set a school record individual score as part of the record-setting in Osceola last Thursday. Wheeler shot a 35, breaking the record score of 37 that had been shot by Caitlynn Singerhouse last season.

Wheeler was playing so well on Thursday that she was ahead of defending WIAA state champion Casey Danielson for part of the round. Danielson eventually overtook Wheeler by shooting a 32 on her home course.

Wheeler’s one-under round of 35 included four birdies, one bogey and one double bogey.

Rachael Ziller and Jordan Peterson each shot a 44 on Thursday, with Leah Bauer at 45 and Hannah Wheeler at 48.

Tiger coach Neal Ziller said he thinks there are more broken records in the Tigers future.

“I don’t see any reason they can’t shoot in the low 160s. Their potential might be in the 150s,” he said.

The 168 put the Tigers eight strokes ahead of Osceola.

Somerset placed fourth with a 214 score. Spartan coach Bill Powers was pleased to see Carley Seibel bring her score down to 49. With Seibel and Sammi Wolff, who shot 48, the Spartans have two players capable of shooting in the 40s in every round.

St. Croix Central was without two of its varsity golfers for Thursday’s match. After finishing third or fourth in recent matches, that dropped the Panthers back to eighth Thursday. Junior Arinn DiSalvo led the Panthers with a 43, the fourth best score in the match.

Last Tuesday at Amery

Any thoughts that New Richmond might run away with the MBC lead were snuffed out last Tuesday at the Amery Golf Club. Osceola shot a 188 to win the nine-hole match, finishing one stroke ahead of New Richmond’s girls. St. Croix Central and Somerset continue to battle for third and fourth. Central took third at Amery, finishing at 225, one stroke in front of the Spartans.

Amery is one of the tougher courses on the MBC circuit and it reflected in its scores. Osceola had the top two individuals, with Casey Danielson counting a 39 and Emilee Anderson carding a 42. New Richmond had the next three scores, with Alex Wheeler at 45, Rachael Ziller at 46 and Leah Bauer at 48.

Coach Ziller said the Tigers were hurt by the high number of penalty shots they took during the match.

Central took third on Tuesday, getting a 49 from DiSalvo and a 52 from senior Kelsey McKenna.

Somerset placed fourth at Amery, with a 53 from Wolff as the Spartans’ top score.

Division 1 tournaments

The New Richmond girls took part in two large non-conference events last week, which meant they played four consecutive days. On Wednesday they played in a tournament in Tomah. The Tigers shot a 348, missing the 18-hole school record by two strokes.

This meet produced a first for the Tigers. They’ve never had four girls all score in the 80s in a match before. Ziller and Hannah Wheeler each shot an 86, Bauer finished at 87, Alex Wheeler shot an 89 and Peterson shot a 96.

The Tigers finished two strokes behind Onalaska for the tournament title.

Last Monday the Tigers played in an Eau Claire North tournament at Hillcrest Country Club. The Tigers shot a 390, finishing behind River Falls, Onalaska and Osseo-Fairchild.

Alex Wheeler led the Tigers with a 95, Peterson shot a 96 and Bauer shot a 98.

Ziller said the battle for the two Division 1 state tournament entries looks to be a four-way battle. He said he expects River Falls, Onalaska and Holmen to join the Tigers in the battle for the state tournament openings this year.

Schedule

New Richmond hosts a match with River Falls and Hudson this Thursday at The Links. New Richmond Golf Club will be the site for the next conference match, scheduled for next Tuesday.

Tags: sports, tigers, golf, prep