(Sentinel photo by Allen Hamil) Akron-Westfield’s Tatum Wilken scores from the fareway towards the green in Thursday’s meet. Wilken shot a 40 that day, helping the Westerners to two wins.
LE MARS – The Akron-Westfield boys’ golf team faced War Eagle Conference opponents Gehlen Catholic and Hinton in double action Thursday at the Willow Creek Golf Course. The Westerners easily had the worst score of the day, ending with 159 compared to 175 for the Jays and 177 for the Blackhawks.
After winning their second straight conference tournament title earlier in the week, Thursday’s victories sealed the deal for the regular conference season title.
The Westerners had the four best singles in their duel against Gehlen. Carter Wilken shot a 37 that was just over par on the black course. After a shaky start with a double bogey on the first hole, Wilken passed for par on the next four holes and then screwed the sixth par 5. He then ended his round with a fitting par on the last three holes.
Tatum Wilken and Jackson Neubrand were tied with 40 seconds for the next score. Wilken screwed the fifth par 5 and added four even par holes to his round. Neubrand made par on three holes while birdieing on par-five six.
Jackson Marnach completed the team score for the westerners with a 42. He hit par on three holes and screwed the fifth par 5.
Akron-Westfield’s fifth goal was a 44 from Michael Swancutt. He had three equal holes. Matthew Swancutt completed the lineup with a 54. His best hole was a fitting par on the seventh par 4.
The standings against the Blackhawks were only slightly different, with Hinton’s Kaden Barrett hitting a 39 to take second place and pushing the other three scoring points down one spot.
The Westerners improved to 8-1 in conference duals and 18-1 when factoring in results from conference tournaments. They will face Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn on Monday to wrap up their conference season.
The head-to-head between the Jays and the Blackhawks gave the host school a 175-177 win by two shots.
Hinton’s Barrett, at 39, was the overall medalist of that duel. Barrett opened the meeting with a birdie on the first hole. He then bogeyed but then shagged #3. After a bogey on the fourth hole, he passed the next two for par. He then finished his round +1 on each of the last three holes.
(Sentinel photo by Allen Hamil) Hinton’s Kaden Barrett putts Thursday at Willow Creek Golf Course. He shot a 39 to finish medalist in doubles against Gehlen and runner-up in doubles against Akron-Westfield.
Gehlen followed with the next three points, all 43s. Dawson Barthole, Landen Reuter and Gabe Wiltgen all provided consistent final results. Barthole finished his round with four even par holes. Reuter passed on one hole for par and also screwed the sixth par 5. Wiltgen ended up with three equal holes.
(Sentinel photo by Allen Hamil) Gehlen Catholic’s Gabe Wiltgen sends the ball airborne with his momentum in Thursday’s meeting. He was one of three Jays to shoot a 43, the lowest for the team at the meet.
Hinton’s Beau Cook was a stroke behind the Gehlen trio at 44. He ended up with three even par holes.
Hinton’s Garrett Morran was next on a 45. He made par on two of the holes.
Gehlen got his final score with a 46 from Keaton Logan. He was able to screw the par 4 third and make par at No. 1
Hinton’s fourth result was a 49 from Bode Binneboese. He played par on three holes.
Non-counting points for the Jays were a 50 from Carson Arens and a 67 from Landen Kneip. Hinton did not use a 51 from Briar Lahrs or a 52 from Kayden Prins for their team score.
Gehlen advanced to 14-5 in conference play. They are 7-2 in doubles action with a regular season contest against MMCRU scheduled for Monday.
Hinton’s two losses were her firsts this season in conference dual action. Combined with the results of the conference tournament, the Blackhawks are 13-6 in league play with a final conference tournament scheduled for Monday at Harris-Lake Park.
