The Seward golf team finally teed off for the 2014 season with the Lincoln Pius X Invitational at Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln April 7.
Seward finished ninth of the 20 teams but did not win any individual medals. Jerad Hartman led the team with a 50-40 90, Alex Russell recorded scores of 49-44 for a 93. Grant Biggs shot a 51-42 93, and Harrison Helmer finished with a 50-43 93. Alec Hanson rounded out the team with a 50-50 100.
“It was about what I expected,” Coach Jim Placke said. “Firethorn is a very difficult course.”
Russell is the only golfer back from last year’s varsity team and the only one who had seen the course before. Placke said he was pleased with how the new team members handled themselves in an unfamiliar situation.
On April 10, Seward hosted York and Crete for a triangular. York won the afternoon with a 175, Seward shot a 176 and Crete finished with a 177.
Russell led the Jays with a 42. Hartman shot a 44, and Helmer, Biggs and Hanson each finished in 45.
Placke said scores were about one to two strokes higher than the team’s practice rounds, but he said that’s because of the adrenaline that comes with competition. As the golfers become accustomed to the competition and the golf courses, he said scores will drop.
With the consistent scores across the team, the golfers are constantly battling for position. Placke said the goal is to get four golfers shooting in the 80s, which he believes the team can do.
“This will be a fun group to work with,” he said, adding that the golfers have a passion for the game.
Seward is scheduled to play in the York Invitational Thursday, April 17, beginning at 9 a.m.
