Somerset golf team qualifies for Division 2 sectional meet

• Hunter Iverson

Hunter Iverson is one of the young additions to the Somerset team that helped the Spartans become a sectional qualifier this season.

Talk about it

A power surge on the back nine was enough to lift the Somerset boys golf team into this Tuesday’s WIAA Division 2 sectional tournament.

Somerset was in the middle of the pack halfway through last Tuesday’s WIAA Division 2 regional meet on their home turf, Bristol Ridge Golf Course. The vastly improved play on the back nine lifted the Spartans to third place in the final standings, qualifying them for this Tuesday’s Division 2 Unity Sectional Meet played at the Amery Golf Course.

Unity won last Tuesday’s sectional meet with a 341 score. Osceola was second at 344. Somerset qualified at 352 and Amery was the final qualifier at 354.

Somerset shot a 183 on the front nine. A duplication of that score on the back nine would have left them out of the sectional tournament.

“At the turn I tried to convince each one of them that they might not be shooting the best they can, but the other teams might not be doing very well either,” said Somerset coach Bill Powers.

Powers plea must have hit home. The Spartans shot a 169 on the back nine, the best score of any of the 11 teams on the final nine holes.

Somerset senior Jake Green had the best score in the tournament on the back nine. His 37 on the back nine gave him an 80 for the tournament. That tied him for second place overall with Osceola’s Charlie Danielson, one stroke behind tournament medalist Logan Veenendall of Baldwin-Woodville.

Powers said the Spartans do most of their practicing on the back nine, which might have been the reason their score improved by 14 strokes over the front nine.

The brisk wind on Tuesday caused problems for all of the teams in the tournament and resulted in higher than normal scores.

Matt Skoglund was Somerset’s second scorer with an 87. Zach Bahr shot 89, Hunter Iverson 96 and Danny Green 98.

Powers said he’d like to see the team reach state, but it will take a mammoth effort.

“With Northwestern, Unity, Osceola and Sparta (in the tournament), they would have to slip a little and we would have to shoot two good nines,” Powers said.

St. Croix Central

The Panthers also took part in the regional tournament, finishing last among the 11 teams entered with a 415 score.

The Panthers were led by sophomore Jonah Tczap who shot 100. He was followed by Zach Bresina at 104, Jake Bonte at 105, Nathan Bringgold at 106 and Luke DeGross at 115. DeGross was the only senior playing for the Panthers at Bristol Ridge.

WIAA Somerset Division 2 Boys Golf Regional Tournament

Team Scores: Unity 341, Osceola 344, Somerset 352, Amery 354, Durand 363, Ellsworth 365, Baldwin-Woodville 374, Grantsburg 390, St. Croix Falls 394, Prescott 407, St. Croix Central 415

Somerset scores

Jake Green 43-37=80; Matt Skoglund 45-42=87; Zach Bahr 46-43=89; Hunter Iverson 48-48=96; Danny Green 53-45=98

St. Croix Central scores

Jonah Tczap 50-50=100; Zach Bresina 51-53=104; Jake Bonte 51-54=105; Nathan Bringgold 59-47=106; Luke DeGross 57-58=115

Tags: sports, somerset, spartans, golf, prep