NEW GLARUS — The Glarner Knights graduated nearly half of its varsity roster in 2022. Seniors Carter Siegenthaler, Ben Lukszys and Zak Arnett led New Glarus to a third-place finish in the Capitol South Conference, but head coach Jonathan Goodness is confident this year’s team can repeat that success.

“I expect us to reload and compete for one of the top three places in conference,” Goodness said. “I expect each player to experience significant growth from last year and continue to develop their game as the season progresses.”

The Knights also have revenge on their mind, as New Glarus competed in a tough regional with Lodi, Edgerton, Brodhead and Edgewood. New Glarus missed out on sectionals by one team point.

Although the team didn’t qualify, returning senior Nolan Bodenstein advanced to sectionals as an individual. He was a first-time letterwinner in golf as a junior. Jackson Erstad also earned his first letter in golf last year and returns for his sophomore season. Senior Jack Douma will lead the team, as he is a three-time letter winner.

Fellow senior Brett Warrell and sophomores Lance Brecklin and Clayton Streiff each have the ability to contribute at the varsity level, according to Goodness, but it will depend on how much they’ve improved from last season.

“Golf is always difficult to gauge preseason because you don’t know who has improved and by how much,” Goodness said. “The challenge for us is to see how much we can improve as the season progresses. A goal for each player will be to shave at least two strokes from their average by the end of the season.”

The Knights can accomplish this with putting, chipping and focus.

“I think our team is focused on honing their short-game skills and breaking each hole down, shot by shot,” Goodness said. “Our resiliency, work ethic, focus and attention to detail will determine how far we can go as a team this year.”

Each of these qualities will be important to compete with top conference contenders Cambridge and Lodi.