KCC Golf teams presenting successful seasons
By Coach Trent Jerome
The KCC Bearcat golfers have had a busy schedule the past couple weeks.
Girls Golf
The girls traveled to Stephen for their second Border Conference meet on Tuesday, April 29. It was a sunny but cool day for golfing. The girls came ready to play and all improved on their scores from the previous week. The team took third place overall and Kasey Waling came home with the runnerup medalist honors shooting an 88 for the day. Other golfers scoring for the team score were Mackenzie Casper – 103, Saydi Olsonawski – 105 and Kealy Preble – 110.
On Wednesday, April 30, the girls participated in the Section 8 Preview Tournament in Bemidji. This meet had them competing with Class A and AA schools as a way to see future competition at the Section 8 meet and to have an opportunity to golf the Bemidji course. Two of the golfers had competed there last season but it was a new adventure for the rest of the team. It was a learning experience for them all and showed them where they need to focus practices for the next time they get to play. Kasey Waling was low score for the team shooting a 104.
Tuesday, May 6, the girls competed at Lancaster Riverside Golf Course. The day was sunny and calm to start, but turned breezy later in the round. The Bearcat Girls performed with steadiness and finished the meet in third place overall. Kasey Waling brought home the runner-up medalist honors shooting a 93 for the day. Medalist for the meet was Emily Burkel of BGMR with a score of 90. Other Bearcat golfers were Mackenzie Casper – 107, Saydi Olsonawski – 113, Kealy Preble – 114, Ellie Bernstrom – 128, Avery Truesdell – 152 and Katie Wallenberg – 144.
On Thursday, May 8 the Bearcat team golfed in the fifth Border Conference meet in Roseau. This was the first meet held on an 18-hole course for the golfers. The girls had better focus and determination. The team finished fourth overall with a team score of 410. The winning team for the day was Roseau on their home course with a score of 353. The day was competitive and scoring was tight. Although the team didn’t finish higher in the standings, their personal scores reflected the effort they put in that day with many of them golfing their personal best.
Kasey Waling – 95, Kealy Preble – 99, Saydi Olsonawski – 105, Mackenzie Casper – 111, Ellie Bernstrom – 118 and Avery Truesdell – 127.
Boys Golf
The Bearcat Boys have also been active on the course over the past couple of weeks.
On Thursday, May 1, the boys hosted a meet in Lancaster. Marcus Lindegard was the low scorer for the Bearcats, finishing with a 91. The team placed seventh overall. Event medalists were Danyn Janousek of BGMR with a 76 and Parker Moes of Warroad with a 77.
On Tuesday, May 6, the boys traveled to Warren for another Border Conference meet. Marcus Lindegard shot a 94 and Jack Whitlock followed closely with a 95. Their efforts helped the Bearcats secure a sixth place team finish. Warroad’s Redley and Draydin Johnson, brothers, each posted an impressive round of 72 to top the leaderboard.
The boys’ most complete outing came on Thursday, May 8 in Roseau, where the Bearcats had four players finish in the 90s—an encouraging sign of team progress. Jack Whitlock led with a 90, followed by Jaxon Woinarowicz and Braxton Carr who each shot 95, and Koston Nordin who came in with a 96. The event winner was Kyden Kotrba of West Marshall Fusion with a 74, and runner-up was Patrick Kennedy of Warroad with a 76.
The boys are gaining momentum and will look to carry their improvement into the upcoming Subsection meets.
MACKENZIE CASPER takes aim before driving the ball down the course.
ELLIE BERNSTROM replaces her ball on the green after another player completed their putt.
JACK WHITLOCK carefully calculates his move on the green.
MARCUS LINDEGARD lines up a putt during one of the golf meets recently. (All photos submitted)
