by Chase Spencer

With a high of 55 degrees on April 5, the boys varsity golf team competed at Pine Knolls golf course in Knoxville, Iowa. The Knoxville golf team came in first, only beating PCM by five strokes. The 9-hole meet had a total of three schools competing, PCM, Knoxville and Pleasantville.

Head coach Matt Rider said, “I am very proud of how they battled back to salvage some good scores given it’s our first meet of the year. On a positive note, it’s the best we’ve done all year.”

A total of eight PCM golfers played which included seniors Dayton Boell, Noah Lanphier, Jackson Thomas, and Elijah Sperfslage, juniors Andrew Van Ryswyk and Reed Worth, freshmen Gatlin Boell and Andrew Mitchell. Lanphier received second place overall with his score of three over par, 38.

Rider commented on what they are trying to do in practice and in competitions, “We are learning to narrow down our targets, not just hit the ball in a general area but lock in on specific targets on the course. Play one shot at a time and play the course and not our opponent since this is stroke play and not match play. We just need to have confidence in our abilities because we are a good team. Our goal is to make the state tournament this year and anything short is not a successful season in our minds, and we are all on the same page with that.”

If weather is sufficient, the team’s next meet will be on Friday, April 13 against Pella at Bos Landen at 1 p.m.