May 24, 2021 at 8:55 a.m.
Hodag golfers finish mid-pack in GNC finale
Hodag golfers finish mid-pack in GNC finale
Gechas shot 82 to tie for fourth individually and the Hodags shot 374 as a team to finish fourth in the final round of the GNC tournament at Northwood Golf Club.
"It was pretty exciting that we made it in fourth," coach Adam Schmidt said. "Some of the boys shot good. Kole came in with 43-39 for an 82, that was pretty awesome."
That was the good news, the bad news is that who Gechas was chasing individually, and who the Hodags were chasing collectively had better rounds on Friday. That locked Gechas into sixth overall in the final individual conference standings and the Hodags sixth overall in the team rankings.
The golfers ended up playing Northwood's front nine twice to ensure the entire field got the same nine holes completed so the match could be declared official in the event of inclement weather. Luckily, the forecasted afternoon thunderstorms never materialized and the conference was able to get the event completed in full.
Gechas, who started on the fifth hole, had a solid round with 10 pars and seven bogeys. His only real slip-up was a triple bogey 8 the second time he played the par-5 second hole. His round was still good enough for finish in a three-way tie for fourth, five strokes back of medalist Kaeden Nomm of Lakeland.
"He had a couple holes where he was struggling a little bit with the putting, stuff wasn't falling," Schmidt said. "I watched him on the front side on 7, he just left a birdie putt short. It was just right there. I think that played a little part of it, but overall, he still shot 43-39 which was great."
Even without the slip-up on the second, Gechas probably would not have been able to vault into the top five in the conference standings to earn first-team honors. Lakeland's Matt Haggart, who Gechas was chasing for the fifth spot, shot 79 to finish third on the day and lock down the final spot on the all-conference first team.
Gechas had to settle for second team honors after finishing honorable mention in the conference two years ago as a freshman.
"Sixth in the conference is still quite and accomplishment," Schmidt said. "He played good. As a junior, it's something for him to bring back and strive for next year. It's pretty exciting."
Rhinelander was unable to get anyone else into all-conference position. Both Garrett Kulhanek and Andrew Henrichs needed to finish solo 10th or better to have a chance to get into the top 15 overall, but neither was able to do so. Kulhanek's card included two 8s on the opening nine as he shot 95 overall. Henrichs made the turn in 44 but had three double bogeys and only one par on his second nine to shoot 91 overall and finish four strokes outside the top 10.
"Andrew shot 44-47, so that was a good round. It was better than what he was doing," Schmidt said. "Garrett, he just had a couple of big holes, but he was kind of down on himself, frustrated throughout the day. He wasn't playing as well as he thought he should have been."
Carter Gaber shot 106 and Cal Laggis had a 113 for the Hodags on Friday.
Lakeland shot 316 to complete a clean sweep of all seven legs of the conference tournament. The T-Birds won the day by 42 strokes over Antigo. Medford was third with a 365, followed by Rhinelander, Northland Pines (379) and Mosinee (381). Mosinee still finished runner-up in the team standings ahead of Antigo, Northland Pines, Medford and Rhinelander.
Nomm wrapped up player of the year honors, taking the title by 7 1/2 points over Lakeland teammate Cody Olson, who was part of the three-way tie for fourth on Friday with Antigo's Joe Volpentesta and Gechas. Volpentesta finished third in the final standings. Mosinee's Toren Holtz and Haggart rounded out the All-GNC first team.
The Hodags have all of this coming week off of competition as they prepare for a WIAA Division 1 regional June 1 at Wausau Country Club.
"We definitely have some tough competition, but I think these boys, if they really focus and put their minds to it, they should be able to throw out some decent rounds," Schmidt said. "We'll go play a practice round next Friday and we'll see how it goes."
As for this week, Schmidt said the plan was too take it light. The team planned a fun day for Monday and will spend the rest of the week gearing up for the postseason.
"That leaves us a week to really focus on it, work on the range, work on some putting, so some short game, sand shots, chipping, stuff around the green to focus," he said. "Then, (it's just a matter of) don't put too much pressure on them, make sure they still enjoy it and they're having fun. That's really what it's about, that they have a good time."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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