Troy A. Bruzewski, sports@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Troy A. Bruzewski Gresham High School golfer Killian Eggert sinks a putt Thursday during the Shiocton Invitational at Eagle Creek.
Photo by Troy A. Bruzewski Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School golfer Devin Gruna hits a tee shot Thursday during the Shiocton Invitational at Eagle Creek.
The Gresham High School boys golf team again relied on Killian Eggert to put the Wildcats near the top of the leaderboard Thursday at Eagle Creek.
The Shiocton Invitational was the second consecutive event the Wildcats were unable to submit a team score due to not fielding a full team. However, it was also the second consecutive meet that Eggert has challenged for the overall individual win. He finished with an 82 to tie for fourth and follow his first-place tie Monday at Golden Sands.
Gresham coach Ben Dieck said he likes Eggert’s chances to extend his season further than last year.
“(Eggert) got to the sectional last year, but no further,” Dieck said. “I think he can go further this year and we’re hoping we’ll have more than one (advance).”
That is more likely to happen with the team having a full card of golfers. Eggert was joined by just two teammates, and Gresham therefore was omitted from the team standings. Marathon won the meet with a 359; Fox Valley Lutheran was second at 365 and Manawa was third with a 369. Wittenberg-Birnamwood finished ninth with a 412. Menominee Indian (529) was 12th.
“We’ll have people back and have a full team before (next week’s) regular season finale,” Dieck said.
Even with a short roster, the Wildcats were still close to a win.
Eggert was ahead of Weyauwega-Fremont’s Alex Hulbert and tied with Manawa’s Ryan Schuelke through six holes on the first nine, despite Hulbert’s birdie on the par-3 No. 3. Eggert began to lose ground at No. 7. He had two bogeys and a double bogey to close the first nine, while Schuelke and Hulbert hit par on all three. Hulbert held a one-stroke advantage after nine holes, with Schuelke a stroke behind and Eggert three behind.
Schuelke had a birdie at No. 10 to pull even with Hulbert, but Eggert gained two strokes on the leader by hitting par at No. 11 and a birdie No. 12.
The three golfers remained close throughout the second nine, but a double bogey at No. 18 relegated Eggert to a tie for fourth, while Schuelke and Hulbert tied for the top score at 79.
Maverick Bushman was the lone golfer to break 100 for Wittenberg-Birnamwood, finishing with a 92. He had to recover from early struggles that included a triple bogey, two double bogeys and a bogey in the first four holes. He finished with a 48 on the first nine and cut that to 44 on the second nine. Kyle Adamski finished with a 101 and Madison Bushman had a 103.
John Long led Menominee Indian with a 93 and was the only team member to finish under 100. He had a 50 on the first nine, but recovered for a 43 on the second nine. A double bogey at No. 14 and a bogey at No. 17 prevented him from a potential top-10 finish.