REEDSBURG – With a four-over-par round of 76 and a second-place finish at last Tuesday’s Southwest Wisconsin Conference meet, Lancaster senior golfer Josh Hentrich etched his name in the conference record book as the 2017 SWC Player of the Year.
“It’s a big deal,” said Lancaster golf coach Brad Sturmer of the honor. “The SWC has been a very competitive conference for golf. To win the SWC Player of the Year is more than just winning one tournament. You have to be consistent.”
Hentrich concluded conference play with 226.5 conference points, which was 6.5 points ahead of River Valley senior Derek Wedige, who finished tied for fourth at Tuesday’s meet with a round of 78.
After seven meets that included six nine-hole rounds of golf and the final 18-hole meet, Hentrich had a nine-hole conference average of 38.0, while only Wedige was slightly better at 37.9.
Hentrich joins his brother Zach, who won Player of the Year honors in 2012 and 2013, and Andrew Gates, who won it in 2015, making this the fourth individual title by a Lancaster golfer in the past six seasons.
Tuesday’s round saw Hentrich shoot a two-over-par round of 38 on the front nine, shooting two birdies, three pars and four bogies.
After shooting par on the 10th hole, the Lancaster senior took a double-bogie on the par-5 11th. He settled in from that point on though to string together seven straight pars to shoot a 38 on the back.
Coming in with a round of 93 was Lancaster sophomore Morgan Seippel, while junior Dillon Marshall shot a 98, junior Evan Gates a 102 and sophomore Isaac Farrey a 109.
With Hentrich finishing among the top five individuals in the final league standings, he was also honored with first-team all-conference honors.
Marshall, who finished 14th in the league standings, was one of five golfers to earn honorable-mention honors, finishing with 118 conference points and a nine-hole conference average of 46.8.
Hentrich will now be looking to make his fourth trip to the WIAA State Meet, where he was a member of the 2014 and 2015 state qualifying teams, and as an individual qualifier last season.
“It’s been an awesome career for him, starting as the four-man on a state championship team as a freshman, and for the last two years having to be the top dog on the team,” Sturmer said of Hentrich.
“I told him last year, and it doesn’t change this year, that I think he’s one of best, if not the best, golfer in division 3, it’s just a matter of putting everything together at the right time for two days in a row.”
The Flying Arrows next compete at the Division 3 New Glarus Regional this Wednesday, where the top four teams qualify for the Markesan Sectional, along with the top four individuals not on a qualifying team.
Of the 10 teams at Wednesday’s regional, Lancaster entered the meet as the fifth seed according to scoring averages.
The Markesan Sectional will be played on Tuesday, May 30, where the top two teams qualify for the WIAA State Meet, along with the top three individuals not on a qualifying team. The State Meet will be played on June 5-6 at University Ridge Golf Course.
SWC Championships
(from Tuesday, May 16, at Reedsburg Country Club, par 72)
Team scores - 1. Platteville 312; 2. River Valley 346; 3. Dodgeville 349; 4. Lancaster 369; 5. Richland Center 355; 6. Prairie du Chien 402.
Medalist - Cade Rohrbach (Platteville) 38-37=75.
Lancaster - Josh Hentrich 38-38=76. Dillon Marshall 51-47=98; Morgan Seippel 47-46=93, Evan Gates 54-48=102, Isaac Farrey 61-48=109.
SWC Final Golf Standing
Platteville 49 pts.
River Valley 38.5 pts.
Dodgeville 30 pts.
Lancaster 22 pts.
Richland Center 20.5 pts.
Prairie du Chien 9 pts.
SWC All-Conference Golf Team
Player of the Year
Josh Hentrich, Lacaster
First Team
Josh Hentrich, Lancaster
Derek Wedige, River Valley
Cade Rohrbach, Platteville
Alex Traxler, Platteville
Isaac Lange, River Valley
Second Team
Zach White, Platteville
Mike MacKinnon, Dodgeville
Isaiah Altfillisch , Dodgeville
Sam Peterson, Prairie du Chien
Cody Kintz, Richland Center
Honorable Mention
Ethan Suits, Platteville
Cole Price, River Valley
Nolan Moore, Richland Center
Dillon Marshall, Lancaster
Jared Yingst, Dodgeville
