MHS golf: Warriors co-host county tournament
Sports reporter
On a warm and windy day, the wind ruled.
In the state's only 36-hole, one-day high school golf tournament, Marion and Hillsboro High Schools played host to 83 golfers who saw their golf balls hit into the wind and whipped around like feathers.
But MHS head coach Rex Ostmeyer said walking into a wind for 10 or 11 hours a day will take a toll on your body more than the direction of the ball.
Luke Gordon was the top Marion golfer Friday with a round of 81 in the morning at Hillsboro Municipal Golf Course, and a 95 on his home course at Marion Country Club.
His total of 176 was good enough for 18th place.
He earned a medal at Hillsboro for a ninth-place finish.
At Marion Gordon started off with a triple bogey and shot 50 on the front nine.
He came back with a 45 on the second.
"That shows a little bit about Luke," Ostmeyer said of his second nine.
Jake Bredemeier, Olle Gemfors, and Keith Jones finished back-to-back-to-back at 43rd, 44th, and 45th place.
Bredemeier went 90-98, Gemfors 93-95, and Jones 99-90.
Landon Leiker was 53rd with scores of 94-99, and Lindsay Hett was 70th after rounds of 100-111.
Gemfors, an exchange student, was the most consistent during the day, and has improved his play from earlier in the season.
"I'd kill to have him back for another year," Ostmeyer said. "With a little short game work he would shoot in the 80s every week."
Of the 14 schools who competed on both courses, MHS was eighth with a total of 736 strokes.
Topeka Hayden won the event after shooting 631.
The Warriors played at Hillsboro in the morning when the wind was not as fierce, and took sixth place with a total of 358.
MHS was 10th out of 15 at Marion with a stroke total of 378.
It wasn't the best the team had fared this season, but Ostmeyer felt by the second half of the round at Marion, fatigue was a factor.
"They were getting worn down," he said. "It's mentally and physically taxing."
MCAA league meet
The Warriors competed at the Mid-Central Activities Association tournament at The Highlands golf course in Hutchinson hosted by Nickerson High School.
Gordon was the top Warrior golfer with a round of 87, Leiker shot 90, Bredemeier 99, Gemfors 103, Jones 107, and Hett 108.
Gordon started off hot with a front-nine of 38, but ended with a 49 on the back nine.
Ostmeyer was happy with the freshman Leiker.
"I was really pleased with Landon, that is a heck of a golf score to shoot as one of your best scores of the year," Ostmeyer said. "He is getting better and better."
