Sauk Prairie golfers sixth at conference mini-meet

The Badger Small Conference golf race is wide open. And despite a sixth place finish at a conference mini-meet held at Yahara Hills last Thursday, Sauk Prairie remains in the mix for a league title. Madison Edgewood won the meet with a 324 team score, while the Eagles were sixth at 336. Sauk Prairie slipped from the top of the conference to second place after the meet. “While we were disappointed in our sixth place finish, the Badger Conference Small standings are tight and we still sit in second place,” Eagles coach Shane Frey said. “We have one more mini-meet and the conference tournament. High finishes in those events will put us right in the mix for a Conference title.” Garret Mittelstaedt led Sauk Prairie with an 81.   “He had a really good day and it is good to see him gaining confidence as we work our way towards the WIAA tournament season,” Frey said of Mittelstaedt. “I think he is primed to finish his senior year strong.   Greysen Dunn added an 83, while Colin Harrington carded an 85 and Gavin Goetsch shot an 87. “I am also really proud of senior Colin Harrington,” Frey said. “He hit the ball great, hit many greens in regulation and finished with an 85.   “Putting struggles kept him from having his best round for us, but he was really happy with his round. This is a good time of the year to feel good about your game and Colin should have confidence moving forward.” Overall, putting struggles hurt the Eagles, something they’ll have to clean up down the stretch. “We really hit it pretty well overall and putting struggles kept us from really having a great day,” Frey said. “Yahara Hills has some very large greens, so an occasional three-putt is going to happen. It would be very difficult to get around that course without any three-putts.   “There were only five strokes that separated second through sixth place and the number of three- and four-putts that we had proved to be the difference and dropped us all the way to sixth. We always emphasize the importance of the short game. Leaving the ball below the hole and solid lag putting are things that can really make a positive impact on your score. Those are things that we need to continue to work on.” The Eagles also played at the Sand Valley Invite in Nekoosa on April 23. The event was geared more towards fun than anything, allowing the 12 schools to enjoy the gorgeous course. “I was super excited that we were able to get an invite to play at Sand Valley this year,” Frey said. “This is a really fun event in which all five players from a team play in the same group, which is something they don’t get to do for other matches or tournaments.   “This was more of a “bucket list” experience to take our kids to. We played the Mammoth Dunes course and the boys hit it great and we really had a lot of fun. The large undulating greens caused some putting struggles, but we had an awesome day and something the kids will remember for a while.”