A&R golfers move on to sectional

The AlWood-ROWVA Bulldogs advanced to this week’s sectional with their second-place finish at the IHSA Class A boys golf regional tournament at Monmouth’s Gibson Woods on Oct. 9.

The host Monmouth-Roseville Titans claimed the team crown, outpacing the 12-team field by 11 strokes. The Titans finished with 318 strokes and were followed by A&R at 329. Both teams advanced to the Aledo Sectional on Tuesday. Results of the sectional meet were not available at press time.

West Central and United finished just behind the Bulldogs for third and fourth place, respectively. West Central shot a 338 and the Red Storm 342.

A&R’s Caleb Seibert, Ethan Francis and Andrew Kidd all carded rounds of 82 to finish in the top 10 individuals. Nolan Zellman was close behind with an 83.

“This will be the second time we have gone to the sectional tournament in four years,” said A&R coach Dick Behringer. “This time was harder on me.

“The first time we went was my first year as a golf coach and I wasn’t sure what was happening,” Behringer admitted. “This year, I knew what was going on and I got real nervous.”

The Bulldogs led the eventual champions at the turn.

“They (M-R) are an excellent golf team on their home course and teams usually don’t lead them,” Behringer said. “The back nine took forever to play so I was getting more and more nervous as we closed in on the end.”

Despite faltering down the stretch, Behringer was pleased with his team’s showing.

“I am very proud of the team and how they held up throughout the match,” he said. “I think they will make a good showing at Aledo.”

Junior Tauge Rux led Galva with a round of 89. Also for the Wildcats, Brady Landis shot a 96, Jacob Warner had a 115 and Matt Pankau had a 119.

Team scores: 1. Monmouth-Roseville 318, 2. AlWood-ROWVA 329, 3. West Central 338, 4. United 342, 5. Aledo 343, 6. Kewanee 346, 7. Williamsfield 353, 8. Stark County 383, 9. Annawan-Wethersfield 392, 10. Knoxville 400 11. Galva 419, 12. Cambridge 518

Top individuals: 1. Chris Neal (M-R) 74, 2. Shane Creighton (M-R) 76, 3. Brandon Gotaas (West Central) 78, 4. Kyle McEwen (Aledo) 79. 4. Drew Clapper (Kewanee) 79. 4. Bryant Salyers 79, 7. Nathan Kohler (Wethersfield) 80, 8. Jake Gavin (United) 81, 9. Jake Bowman (Williamsfield) 82, 9. Caleb Seibert, (A-R) 82, 9. Ethan Francis (A-R) 82