The JWP boys’ golf team earned a trip to state with their Section 2A title win, and they made the most of their trip on June 10-12, starting with a banquet on Monday before two days of golfing.
Although the team displayed some of its best golfing from some of its athletes, head coach Tim Burke admitted he hoped for a little better. “Pebble Creek was a great time, but the scores weren’t what we were hoping for,” he said.
Out of eight teams in Class A, the boys finished sixth with a total of 658. Fertile-Beltrami were the winners with a 627, 31 strokes better than the Bulldogs. JWP bested Dawson-Boys in seventh and Lakeview at eighth place.
Tuesday started off well for JWP as they were in fifth place with a team score of 331. Senior Logan Thell led the team with 77, and both Steven Dimmel and Alex James tied, showing an 83. Ryan Kronbach had an 88. Jeffrey Simonson shot a 91, while Carter Miller had a 92. With the top four scores, the team held a narrow lead above Fillmore Central, who sat only two strokes behind them with a 333.
Despite having an even better second day at 327, with nearly all golfers performing better than the first day, Fillmore Central took the Bulldogs’ fifth-place spot with a stellar 316-point team score. Thell fired a 79, with Dimmel shooting 80, James, Kronbach, and Miller hitting 84s, and Simonson firing an 89.
Thell ended his high school career placing the highest he ever did at the state tournament level, officially tying for 14th with 156. Dimmel cracked the top 40 with a 163, with James in 47th with 167. Kronbach’s score of 172 earned him 57th place. Miller earned 66th with a 176, and Simonson took 71st with a 180.
Although the scores may not have been up to the team’s standards they set all season, it was still an excellent year for them out on the links. “The boys did great and represented the community great,” Coach Burke said. “They should be proud of themselves.”
Five seniors will leave the team this season: Thell, Dimmel, James, Kronbach, and Miller. While Kronbach will pursue track at the college level instead of golf, Thell and Dimmel plan on continuing to hit the courses after high school. “These five seniors have much to be proud of, especially how they ended their high school careers,” Burke concluded.
With most of the boys leaving the team, seeing where the JWP golf program goes after this season will be interesting. If the past few seasons are any indication, we can expect top-notch golf from the athletes in the program and, hopefully, a few more championship titles to boot.
