Sauk Prairie golfers finish second in Badger Small

The postseason is here. And Sauk Prairie’s boys golf team feels awfully good about what lies ahead. The Eagles finished the regular season by earning a second place finish in the final Badger Conference standings. Sauk Prairie finished third at the conference meet, but combined with the regular season results, finished second overall. The Eagles didn’t have to travel far to begin the postseason, as they hosted a regional Tuesday at Lake Wisconsin Country Club. The top four teams at regionals then advance to the Madison Memorial Sectional May 29 at Blackhawk Country Club. “I am very excited to host regionals this year,” Sauk Prairie coach Shane Frey said. “Waunakee and Middleton headline a strong field.  “Our team goal from Day 1 was to qualify as a team for sectionals and everything we have done this year has shown me that this is an attainable goal. Hosting the tournament on our home course should give us an edge, but at the end of the day the guys still need to go play.   “They still need to find ways to get through the trouble that can happen to anyone on any given day. They still need to make good decisions and stay mentally tough. Should be a fun day.” Here’s a recap of the Eagles’ final week of the regular season:   BADGER SMALL  TOURNAMENT Stoughton won the conference tournament with a 328-team score on May 15. Baraboo was second with a 334, while Sauk Prairie (337), McFarland (339) and Madison Edgewood (353) rounded out the top five. “We entered the Badger Conference Small tournament in second place in the conference standings, still clinging to hopes of a conference championship,” Frey said. “Our conference mini-meets were tight all year.   “Usually the top four to five teams were only separated by a handful of strokes. Stoughton has had the most consistent scoring and came in the tournament with the lead, but we were confident that we could give them a run.” Unfortunately for the Eagles, that didn’t happen. Stoughton’s Sam Hjortland was the medalist with a 75, while the Vikings had three of the top-10 scores. That was good enough for the Vikings to win the conference title and the overall championship. “I am very proud of the guys,” Frey said. “This was a really fun conference season and we were right in the mix the whole year. Our final conference standings had us in second place, which is something they should be very proud of.” Garret Mittelstaedt led the Eagles with an 82, while Graysen Dunn shot an 84. Gavin Goetsch added an 85 and Gavin Falde shot an 86. “Garrett played pretty consistent golf all day, but had a couple of holes he would like to have another crack at,” Frey said. “His driver was letting down for much of the day, but he was able to recover for the most part and finished with a solid score.   “Graysen Dunn expected to have a better day, but did a greaat job of not letting the round get away from him. He goes into every round with high expectations, which I love. He is a great player and works really hard on his game.   “Gavin Goetsch got off to a hot start and carded a 39 on his front nine. I know that he was not happy with his finish, but he played a lot of good golf.”        BATTLE AT       THE ROCK The Eagles shot a 342 and finished fifth at the 20-team invite on May 13 at Wild Rock. Graysen Dunn led the Eagles with an 83, while Gavin Goetsch carded an 84, Colin Harrington shot an 87 and Garret Mittelstaedt had an 88. “The big takeaway for everyone on the day was the importance of leaving the ball in a good spot on the green,” Frey said. “The greens at Wild Rock are huge and have a lot of undulation. Three- and four-putts are very common out there. A lot of strokes can be saved by having a good short game.”