Some guys are just better at putting balls in holes than others.

The Elder golf team has taken the school, city, and state by storm this year.  They have had a record-breaking season, winning six events this year and coming in the top five in other countless events.

If there is one thing scary about this team, it would be the youth.  Four out of the top five golfers on the team are juniors.

The one senior on Varsity A, Jacob Rhoads, explained to me the top golfers on the team this year.

“Juniors Jack Wertz, Lucas Palicki, Jack Baker, Evan Disanto, and then I’m the fifth man,” said Rhoads.

Jack Wertz is one of the better golfers Elder has ever seen and shows it year after year.

This year, Wertz has tied or broken four Elder course records and has helped the team break three team course records as well.  He also added a couple medals (lowest score) for tournaments and earned the recognition of being on first team GCL.

These accomplishments he has earned just this year and he has one more year to go so there is a bright future ahead of Mr. Wertz.

Accompanying Wertz on First team GCL is Lucas Palicki.  Palicki this year also helped the team to set course records and was at the forefront of all tournaments and matches played.

These two have lead the team to a very successful season, but the job isn’t done.  The Panthers are trying to qualify for state for the first time in six years and they have just the right people to do it.

Senior Timmy Rinear (even though not on Varsity A he is very involved with the team) explained what the golf team is up to right n0w.

“So we are going to the District Tournament at Glenview golf course and if we do good then we would qualify for state whixh would be at Ohio State’s golf course which would be a cool sight to see,” said Rinear.

If they qualify for state the tournament up at Ohio State would take place October 20-21.

The team has reloaded and are hungrier than ever to get back to state after a six year hiatus.  The four juniors are young, but they seem to always play their best in big situations and with the senior leader Jacob Rhoads, who has been in this spot before, it seems like this team is destined for success.

Only time will tell for this team and if they perform well enough to be able to make it to state, lets get out to support them.  Lets take a trip to cheer on the Golf team and see if we can witness a State Championship team in the making.

Moderator’s note: On Thursday, October 12, the Panther golfers fell three strokes short of qualifying for state when they fired a 311 total for eighteen holes at Glenview. This score put them in fourth place behind St. Xavier (292), Lakota East (302) and Mason (308). Only three teams qualify from southwestern Ohio although many believe there are more deserving teams in this district over any other in the state. Senior Jacob Rhoads led the way for Elder shooting a team low 75 (+3) for the tourney. Lucas Palicki and Jack Wertz added 77s and Evan DiSanto contributed an 82. So the golf team will have to wait until for next year for that long awaited trip to the Scarlet course at Ohio State.