MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (April 25–May 2)
PREP BOYS GOLF: Platteville Dick McKichan Invitational
By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal / Fennimore Times / Boscobel Dial
Taylor, Herbst lead host Hillmen to third-place finish
PLATTEVILLE — Junior Keagan Taylor fired a fine round of 86 to lead the Platteville golf team to a third-place finish at Saturday’s 13-team Dick McKichan Invitational at the par 71 Platteville Golf and Country Club.
After a co-team-best 46 on the par 37 front nine, Taylor shot a 6-over par 40 on the back nine to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place with Cuba City/Southwestern/Benton’s Ethan Dement and Monona Grove’s Ryan Conley.
Senior Grant Herbst shot 87 to finish tie for 8th individually and junior Gavin Voigts shot 88 to finish tied for 11th.
Junior Mia Simmons shot a 94 to round out Platteville’s four-player team score, and senior Derek Digman shot a non-counting 106.
Platteville shot a combined 355 to finish in a tie for second place with Mount Horeb (355), but lost the tie-breaker to the Vikings.
Monona Grove shot a combined 354 to win the team title by one stroke over Mount Horeb and Platteville.
Prairie du Chien senior James Reilly won the long drive competition and was the individual medalist with a 5-over par 76.
“We had a good showing on Saturday as we tied for second place and ended up with third due to the tie breaker,” said Platteville head coach Brandon Temperly. “We congratulate Monona Grove on a job well done.”
Platteville performance Saturday was a vast improvement from the last time the Hillmen saw Mount Horeb in competition earlier this month.
The Vikings beat the Hillmen by 31 strokes April 8 at the season-opening Dodge–Point Invitational.
“We are definitely trending in the right direction,” added Temperly. “The team keeps grinding and pulling for each other. It’s a fun group to be around and work with. It was great to see Coach McKichan and his wife Kris at the beginning of the tournament as they have had a tremendous impact on golf in the state of Wisconsin.”
Platteville traveled to Dodge–Point Country Club Thursday for the third SWC mini meet of the season.
The Hillmen shot a combined 180 to win the meet by seven strokes over runner-up River Valley (187).
Herbst shot a 40 and Voigts carded a 42 to lead the Hillmen and finish first and second individually. Simmons, Taylor and Digman each shot 49 to round out Platteville’s varsity lineup.
“Our team of 23 golfers is improving steadily from top to bottom and has been very competitive,” added coach Temperly. “Our JV has a lot of capable golfers that are working hard and earning opportunities. Our varsity is putting themselves in position to accomplish some of their goals and this stretch run will be exciting.
“We have taken second by one shot in 18-hole invites twice now, so we will need to take the lesson of making each shot your best effort if we are going to really do something special. I really like what I am seeing from our team and look forward to each day we get on the course together.”
Platteville traveled to Spring Green Tuesday for the River Valley SWC #4 and will return to Spring Green Tuesday for the House on the Rock Invitational. The Hillmen will then host a SWC mini meet Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Platteville Dick McKichan Invitational
(from Saturday, April 29 @ Platteville Golf & Country Club, par 71)
Team scores — 1.Monona Grove 354, 2(tie).Mount Horeb 355, 2(tie).Platteville 355, 4.McFarland 370, 5(tie).Cuba City/Southwestern/Benton 374, 5(tie).Barneveld 374, 7.Prairie du Chien 394, 8.Darlington 412, 9.Lancaster 419, 10.Richland Center 439, 11.Dodgeville 467, 12.Coulee Christian 500, Pecatonica/Argyle inc.
Top individuals — 1.James Reilly (PdC) 76, 2.Alex Ruetten (P/A) 81, 3.Ryan Gust (Barn) 82, 4.Carter Lange (MH) 84, 5(tie).Keagan Taylor (Pla) 86, 5(tie).Ethan Dement (CC/S/B) 86, 5(tie).Ryan Conley (MG) 86,
Platteville (355) — Keagan Taylor 86, Grant Herbst 87, Gavin Voigts 88, Mia Simmons 94, Derek Digman 106.
