2012 Season Preview: St. Croix Central golfers looking to make their move
This is the year the St. Croix Central girls golf team has been building toward.
- Katlyn Delander
- Becca Isnardi
- Arinn DiSalvo
This is the year the St. Croix Central girls golf team has been building toward.
Returning five players with substantial varsity experience is the payoff for the team working and growing together over the past several seasons.
The Panthers went through their growing pains the past two seasons, but showed steady progress. Central coach Dave Larson said this is the year when the girls can see the return on their effort.
“We should definitely have higher expectations,” Larson said. “Our goal is to make sectionals. That’s a very attainable goal.”
The Panthers are the only Dunn-St. Croix Conference school that competes in girls golf, so they are part of the Middle Border Conference for the golf season. Larson said New Richmond and Osceola will be difficult to catch in the MBC race, but he feels the Panthers should have the goal of finishing third in the MBC standings.
Leading the Panthers is senior Arinn DiSalvo. She ranked seventh among the golfers in the MBC last season and has played almost daily over the summer to hone her skills. DiSalvo has advanced to the sectional tournament the past two years. Larson said she has the skills to advance to the WIAA State Championships. The biggest obstacle for DiSalvo is the strong individuals in this Division 2 sectional, including state champion Casey Danielson, Luck’s Avery Steen, and a pair of top golfers from Eau Claire Regis.
Juniors Katlyn Delander, Becca Isnardi and Janelle Olson have been part of the varsity lineup for most of the past two seasons. Sophomore Kelly Wengelski moved into the varsity lineup last season.
Larson has also been impressed with sophomore Brittney Nabors, who has been competing with the varsity in her first season on the team. Larson said there is a quality group of sophomores and freshmen who give the program a bright long-range view.
“The younger kids have a very good attitude. They’re pretty good athletes, pretty coordinated and fairly strong,” Larson said.
In their first match of the season, the Panthers produced a team score of 213. While that was a solid start, the team is expecting more. Larson said there are days when this team could have four players shooting 50 or below in the same round.
“If everyone plays as they should, we should be around 200 or less,” Larson predicted. He said he expects Baldwin-Woodville, Somerset and Prescott to join the Panthers in the battle for the third spot in the overall conference standings.
Tags: sports, panthers, golf, prep
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