May 18, 2022 at 1:19 p.m.
Hodag golfers take 2nd in final GNC meet
Hodag golfers take 2nd in final GNC meet
The performance came on the heels of a fourth-place finish with a solid round of 342 Monday in Eagle River. Overall, the Hodags finished third in the final GNC standings.
Tuesday's performance at Bass Lake was a breakout event, however. It marked the first time Rhinelander had all five of its players break 90 in a meet this season. Freshman Brody Kowieski and senior Koldyn Gechas each shot in the 70s to secure second-team all-conference recognition.
"The boys really played really well," Hodag coach Adam Schmidt said. "Everybody played good. It just worked out today. Brody, Cal (Laggis) and Andrew (Henrichs) said they had no penalties today. That's the big thing, just keeping the ball in play."
Kowieski fired a career-low round of 4-over 75 on Tuesday that included a hole-out eagle from roughly 80 yards on Bass Lake's par-4 14th hole. That was good enough to finish in a three-way tie for second on the day.
"Brody just played awesome all the way through. Brody was all excited, he did the Mrs. Zierden," Schmidt said, referencing a celebration by Hodag junior varsity golf coach Carole Zierden. "She got an eagle a couple of years ago out on 17 (at Northwood Golf Club) and she threw her club up in the air and jumped up and down. That's what Brody did. He said, "I did the Mrs. Zierden!" He was super excited."
The two got him back to 1-over on the day. He gave the strokes back with bogeys on the following two holes and dropped one more shot on the par-4 1st hole, his 17th of the day.
Tuesday's performance came on the heels of Kowieski's worst showing of the season Monday, a 91 at Eagle River Golf Course.
"He definitely bounced back. At Pines he said his back was a little sore and he just wasn't really feeling it," Schmidt said. "Just the be able to turn it around in one day, that really tells that he's a good player and he likes to play golf. He knows he's got to play it shot by shot and it worked out. He's going to be a good player."
Gechas' only real misstep Tuesday was a double bogey on the par-5 13th hole. Otherwise the senior was steady, with birdies on the par-5 fourth and par-3 17th to shoot 76 and finish tied for fourth.
"Kole just worked at it all day long," Schmidt said. "I watched him on a couple of holes and he scrambled. His short game was really good. He was getting up and down."
The result moved Gechas into a tie for eighth in the final conference point standings, allowing him to earn second-team all-conference honors for a second straight year. He also earned honorable mention in the GNC as a freshman in 2019. The 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kowieski entered Tuesday's play just outside the second-team cutline, sitting in 11th place overall. His runner-up performance allowed him to vault into 10th in the standings, earning the final second-team spot.
Andrew Henrichs, Garrett Kulhanek and Cal Laggis all needed top-10 finishes Tuesday, and a little bit of help, to work into the all-conference mix. Kulhanek and Henrichs tied for 14th with rounds of 86 while Laggis was 17th with a career-best 87.
Lakeland shot 302 Tuesday following a 303 on Monday to complete the clean sweep of all seven conference events. Medford had finished runner-up in the first six conference matches, but finished fourth Tuesday behind Rhinelander and Antigo. The Hodags ended up five points behind Medford for second, and six points ahead of Antigo for third in the GNC standings. That matched third-place showings in 2016 and 2017 as Rhinelander's best team result in conference since winning the GNC title back in 2011.
On Monday in Eagle River, Gechas and Kulhanek both shot 9-over par rounds of 81 to tie for 10th on the day. Henrichs shot 89 while Kowieski and Laggis both shot 91s as Rhinelander finished four strokes behind Antigo for third.
The Hodags are set to host a non-conference invitational at Northwood today to close out the regular season. WIAA Division 1 regional play takes place Tuesday at RiverEdge Golf Course in Marshfield. According to the latest numbers compiled by the WIAA, the Hodags are currently the third seed in the eight-team regional with a nine-hole team scoring average of 171.45 strokes.
"I know the boys are really excited and really jacked. We're playing our best golf coming into the tournament, which is exactly how you want to do it," Schmidt said. "We might even been good enough to be in the top four, be in the second wave. That would be kind of nice. We'd get to sleep in a little bit."
Going off in the second wave would buy the Hodags 50 extra minutes Tuesday morning, with its first tee time at 9:50 a.m. instead of 9 a.m.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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