April 30, 2018 at 1:04 p.m.
Team preview: RHS golf
Hodag golfers look to contend in GNC
Team preview: RHS golf
Schmidt is optimistic that the team could make another incremental jump this year.
"They definitely have a chance to make a good run at conference. Last year we were third. We're right there and I'm hoping they can shoot some low scores and get that bumped up," he said.
Despite the delayed start to the golf season - the team finally got on the course this past Thursday - Schmidt is hopeful that an experienced team that returns four varsity starters can quickly shake off any winter rust.
"When we do get going that could be a benefit," he said of the team's experience. "If we're ready to rock by then, we could put some good numbers up."
Leading the list of returning players are two golfers who earned second-team honors in the Great Northern Conference last season - junior Nick Twite and senior Zach Olds. The two finished eighth and ninth, respectively, in the final conference standings. Coincidentally, they also had the eighth- and ninth-best scoring averages in the GNC with Twite at 86.3 strokes per 18 holes and Olds at 86.6.
"Having them coming back is nice - Nick being a junior and Zach being a senior - that's pretty sweet," Schmidt said. "Just that experience of all four years of being on the golf team with how many seniors we have and the number of kids coming back. That's going to help, all that experience coming back."
Two more seniors return to the lineup this spring. Will England is back after narrowly missing all-conference honors a season ago, with a 18th-place finish in the final conference standings. Joseph Schmitz also returns after showing improvement during the second half of last year. He averaged 93 strokes per round over his final three conference matches.
In theory, that leaves two spots open on the varsity lineup - one more starter and an alternate - but Schmidt said the incumbents aren't necessarily a shoo-in for their positions, especially if other players start posting low numbers when the team gets out onto the course.
"There's definitely some possibilities," he said of the chance other players crack the starting lineup. "That's the great thing about golf, it's all about shooting that score. Ultimately, if we have a freshman (heavy) team and they're all shooting 70s for 18 holes, I'll take five freshman to state."
Rhinelander has a number of freshmen on the team. Many of those players - including Harlan Wojtusik, Conor Pequet, Jared Arno and Jakob Losch - possess a hockey background, which tends to lend itself well to golf.
The returning players will likely get a the first crack at varsity, though Schmidt said he will take attendance and participation in practice into consideration when setting his first lineup. The Hodags got a couple of tune-up matches in last week and will play tomorrow in Green Lake prior to the Great Northern Conference opener Thursday at Medford.
Regardless of how the lineup shakes out, Schmidt said the blueprint for success this year will be for Twite and Olds to carry the load as the Nos. 1 and 2 players.
"If Nick and Zach can get in the low 80s, maybe pop a few 70s, that would be nice. Then if we have three other guys that will shoot in the high 80s, 90. We'll definitely be contenders," he said.
Whether that will be enough to win a conference title remains to be seen, especially considering that conference player of the year Spenser Scholl of Medford is the only player in the top 11 of last year's GNC standings who graduated.
Lakeland, which finished second in the GNC and then knocked off Medford for the runner-up spot at sectionals to earn its first WIAA state meet berth in 21 years, returns all five of its starters. While Medford loses Scholl it returns three other players from its starting five and Mosinee returns John Birnbaum and Stanford Swid, who finished second and fourth in the GNC last year, respectively.
"Other schools definitely have some good kids coming back but, I don't know, I think they're definitely capable of shooting some low numbers," Schmidt said.
In addition to playing well at conference, the Hodags are hoping to at least get one player back to sectionals for the first time since 2016. Twite nearly accomplished the feat last year, but lost in a playoff for the final sectional qualifying spot at Wausau East's Michale Lapree made a long birdie putt on the first playoff hole and Twite missed a 10-foot putt to extend the playoff.
Rhinelander, as the only GNC school in Division 1, will join the seven members of the Wisconsin Valley Conference in an eight-team regional at Merrill Golf Club May 22.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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