By Brandon Gerber
For the Times
The 2013 golf season saw some favorable finishes for a couple of area teams in the Southwest Wisconsin Activities League. The Pecatonica-Argyle co-op golf team ended conference play with a second-place finish, while Darlington finished fourth overall. With eight teams all competing for the top spot, Pec-Argyle and Darlington have their work cut out for them as the golf season approaches.
Pec-Argyle coach Chris Holcomb hopes that his team can continue its success that it enjoyed throughout last year's campaign. For the first time in program history, the team advanced to sectionals in postseason play in 2013.
With a number of key contributors returning, Holcomb said he has high aspirations for his team, hoping that his team can compete for the top spot in conference while making a deep run in the postseason.
"I expect us to play stronger as a team," he said. "We have a strong core of players coming back, but we also have some young players that are talented. Our expectations are that we want to compete for a SWAL conference championship and to also reach that next level and play in the state tournament."
Christopher Severson returns and figures to be Pec-Argyle's top golfer. The senior earned first team all-conference honors last year and will again look to return to form in his last year. Mitchell Steiner, a second team all-conference honoree in his freshman year will figure to give Pec-Argyle a formidable duo, while senior Zach Schilling will bring added experience and leadership to Holcomb and his crew. Matt Severson will also play a pivotal role for Pec-Argyle. Holcomb sees the freshman as an immediate contributor who brings sound fundamentals with his game.
"He (Matt) has very good mechanics," Holcomb said. "I feel that he will be a good player for our team."
For Darlington and third-year coach Rich Westerman, seniors AJ Brandt, Steven Cotter and Kyrin Halverson all return to give the Redbirds a solid trio with valuable experience. Junior newcomers Kevin Fenner, Kade Carey and Walker Wiegel give Darlington and coach Westerman a promising roster that will look to push for a high finish in the conference standings.
Westerman feels that the strength of his team is their experience, and that the three returning seniors will be the primary factors for their team's overall success.
"Our team's strength is our meet experience," Westerman said. "All three of our seniors (Brandt, Cotter, and Halvorsen) average somewhere in the 40-45 range for our meets. They all have the ability to improve their short games to consistently score in the upper 30s to low 40s."
Westerman sees both Mineral Point and Cuba City as the top teams in the conference, with both teams having strong programs.
For the Times
The 2013 golf season saw some favorable finishes for a couple of area teams in the Southwest Wisconsin Activities League. The Pecatonica-Argyle co-op golf team ended conference play with a second-place finish, while Darlington finished fourth overall. With eight teams all competing for the top spot, Pec-Argyle and Darlington have their work cut out for them as the golf season approaches.
Pec-Argyle coach Chris Holcomb hopes that his team can continue its success that it enjoyed throughout last year's campaign. For the first time in program history, the team advanced to sectionals in postseason play in 2013.
With a number of key contributors returning, Holcomb said he has high aspirations for his team, hoping that his team can compete for the top spot in conference while making a deep run in the postseason.
"I expect us to play stronger as a team," he said. "We have a strong core of players coming back, but we also have some young players that are talented. Our expectations are that we want to compete for a SWAL conference championship and to also reach that next level and play in the state tournament."
Christopher Severson returns and figures to be Pec-Argyle's top golfer. The senior earned first team all-conference honors last year and will again look to return to form in his last year. Mitchell Steiner, a second team all-conference honoree in his freshman year will figure to give Pec-Argyle a formidable duo, while senior Zach Schilling will bring added experience and leadership to Holcomb and his crew. Matt Severson will also play a pivotal role for Pec-Argyle. Holcomb sees the freshman as an immediate contributor who brings sound fundamentals with his game.
"He (Matt) has very good mechanics," Holcomb said. "I feel that he will be a good player for our team."
For Darlington and third-year coach Rich Westerman, seniors AJ Brandt, Steven Cotter and Kyrin Halverson all return to give the Redbirds a solid trio with valuable experience. Junior newcomers Kevin Fenner, Kade Carey and Walker Wiegel give Darlington and coach Westerman a promising roster that will look to push for a high finish in the conference standings.
Westerman feels that the strength of his team is their experience, and that the three returning seniors will be the primary factors for their team's overall success.
"Our team's strength is our meet experience," Westerman said. "All three of our seniors (Brandt, Cotter, and Halvorsen) average somewhere in the 40-45 range for our meets. They all have the ability to improve their short games to consistently score in the upper 30s to low 40s."
Westerman sees both Mineral Point and Cuba City as the top teams in the conference, with both teams having strong programs.
