June 6, 2022 at 8:51 a.m.
Gechas wins Schoppe Award again as golf MVP
Gechas wins Schoppe Award again as golf MVP
The Schoppe Award, like all the honors presented during the banquet, were objectively measured through season-long statistics. Gechas had the lowest scoring average on the team at 80.77 strokes per 18 holes, an improvement of just more than four strokes per round from when he won the award last season.
Gechas was Rhinelander's No. 1 player all season, tying for eighth in the Great Northern Conference standings. He also led the Hodags with a third place finish at WIAA regionals and tied for 10th at WIAA sectionals, missing the state tournament by two strokes.
"He improved by five strokes a year, and was a team captain two years in a row," Hodag coach Adam Schmidt said during the banquet.
Gechas highlighted the night's awards as he won the team's fairways and greens awards. He averaged 8.2 hit fairways per round and 8.1 greens per regulation per round.
Gechas' performance, and the improved play of his teammates, led to a breakout season for the Hodags, who finished third in the GNC at a team and qualified for sectionals as a team for the first time since 2016, all while shooting some of their lowest team scores over the last decade.
"These guys are an excellent group of guys," Schmidt said. "I think this my ninth year doing this and I haven't had a group of guys that meshed together, they weren't fighting for spots. They just got along. They wanted to help each other. It was just really was nice and refreshing to see a good group of guys that worked really hard and wanted everyone to do well. You could tell that by how they did this year."
"This year, wow, of all the years I've been here, this is the highest I think we've been. Congratulations, you've all worked hard," added Sharann Schoppe, matriarch of the Schoppe family, who was on hand to present the MVP award.
Another senior, Cal Laggis, received the Jim Johnson Most Improved Player Award. His scoring averaged improved nearly nine strokes from 2021 as he averaged just more than 96 strokes per round, with a low round of 87 late in the season.
Schmidt credited the improvement to Laggis' unflappable demeanor on the course.
"Cal shot some higher rounds but he was always happy-go-lucky, just that friendly guy," he said.
Senior Garrett Kulhanek and freshman Brody Kowieski shared the team's putting award. Both players averaged 32.2 putts per round this season.
The team handed out junior varsity awards as well, with Colton Leman winning MVP and putting honors. Caleb Shefveland was the team's most improved player and leader in greens in regulation. Tate Werner led the team in fairways hit.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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