NEW GLAURS - While it’s not at all surprising that the Lancaster varsity boys’ golf team won last Tuesday’s Division 3 Mineral Point Regional, it’s how they did it that was a little unexpected.
With a team score of 325, the Flying Arrows edged out Cuba City and Southwestern, each of which finished with identical team scores of 326.
The Cubans, as you may remember, finished second at last year’s WIAA Division 3 State Finals. Only one member from last year’s team was lost to graduation, leaving this year’s team with three seniors, one junior and a freshman.
Southwestern’s squad consists of two seniors and three juniors this season, and last year missed going to state by two strokes.
What makes Lancaster’s regional title even more impressive is the fact that they did it using the scores of two freshmen, one sophomore and one junior.
The rock in the group is undoubtedly sophomore Zach Hentrich, who finished tied for second at the Dodge-Point Country Club last Tuesday with a five-over-par round of 75.
Hentrich shot a 39 on the front and followed up with a 36 on the back, leaving him tied with Southwestern’s Josh Smith at 75.
The only player to beat Hentrich and Smith was Iowa-Grant junior Derek Peat, who carded an impressive round of 69 on the par-70 course.
Lancaster junior John VanDeHey came in second for the Arrows with a round of 81, shooting a 43 on the front and a 38 on the back.
He was followed by freshman Nathan Farrey, who finished with an 82 and created a memory that will last him a lifetime.
Farrey started his regional round off in style, using a seven-iron to ace the 217-yard, par-3 first hole.
Farrey’s ball landed short of the green, took two bounces and then rolled into the cup for his first-ever hole-in-one, and the best possible start anyone could ever have on any round.
The freshman carded a 42 on the front and followed up on the back with a 40.
Golfing in the four spot for Lancaster was senior Logan Thole, who ran into a bit of bad luck at the conclusion of his round.
Thole finished his round with a score of 83, but because there was a discrepancy on his scorecard, which he had already signed, he was disqualified.
That meant Lancaster’s fourth score had to come from freshman Andrew Gates, who after shooting a 48 on the front, came up big with a 39 on the back.
With everything that transpired on the day, it truly is remarkable that Lancaster edged out Cuba City and Southwestern by one stroke, bringing home the regional title, and taking the lowest team score into this past Tuesday’s New Glarus Sectional.
In order to keep their season alive and compete at the WIAA State Meet on June 4-5, the Flying Arrows must finish first or second at the New Glarus Sectional.
All-Conference Trio
In other golf news, three Lancaster golfers wrapped up the regular season with all-conference honors, Hentrich and Farrey earning first-team accolades, and VanDeHey earning a spot on the second team.
Hentrich not only led his team this year in SWC play, but also was the league’s top golfer with an average score of 38.4 over seven conference meets.
Hentrich concluded the year with 227 conference points, 17 more than the second-place golfer from Platteville.
Farrey just made the cutoff from first and second team by half a point, finishing league play with 179 points and an average score of 42.4.
The sixth-best golfer in the league had 178.5 points and was relegated to the SWC second team status.
The league’s eighth-best golfer was VanDeHey, who finished the regular season with 175.5 conference points and a league average of 41.9.
D3 Mineral Point Regional
(from Tuesday, May 22, at the Dodge-Point Country Club, par 70)
Team scores - 1. Lancaster 325; 2. (tie) Cuba City 326, Southwestern 326; 4. New Glarus 341; 5. (tie) Iowa-Grant 343, Darlington 343; 7. Mineral Point 355; 8. Argyle/Pecatonica 363; 9. Barneveld 410; 10. Fennimore 425.
Medalist - Derek Peat (Iowa-Grant) 34-35=69.
Individual sectional qualifiers - Derek Peat (Iowa-Grant) 34-35=69; Taylor Ryman (Mineral Point) 38-39=77; Zach McArthur (Darlington) 42-39=81; Asa Burton (Iowa-Grant) 44-40=84.
Lancaster - 2. (tie) Zach Hentrich 39-36=75; 6. (tie) John VanDeHey 43-38=81; 10. (tie) Nathan Farrey 42-40=82; 20. (tie) Andrew Gates 48-39=87; Logan Thole was disqualified.
Cuba City - 4. Alex Stewart 42-34=76; 6. (tie) Dakota Thole 44-37=81, Drew Zimmerman 41-40=81; 20. (tie) Nate Murray 46-41=87; 25. (tie) Taylor Sullivan 52-38=90.
Southwestern - 2. (tie) Josh Smith 38-37=75; 12. (tie) Connor Kuhl 42-41=83; 14. (tie) Calub Heileman 43-41=84, Alex Schmieder 41-43=84; 33. (tie) Devyn Bauer 52-44=96.
