Eagles’ golfers storm into sectionals

The phrase “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds” has been associated with the American postal workers foe generations. On May 21, the phrase, “neither rain nor lightning nor heavy winds nor lengthy delays were going to slow Sauk Prairie’s golfers” was a fitting one. At the WIAA Division 1 Sauk Prairie Regional held at Lake Wisconsin Country Club, the Eagles fired a 315-team score and finished third overall on a day golfers were pulled off the course multiple times due to weather delays.  The top four teams advanced to the Madison Memorial Sectional, which was held May 29. “It was a crazy regional,” Eagles coach Shane Frey said. “We had to endure four weather delays at various points in the day, but we eventually got all 18 holes in.   “We were in a tight battle all day with Madison West and Madison Memorial for the third and fourth team spots. The boys did so many great things to persevere through the weather challenges and pressure of the tight match.” Middleton shot a 294 and won the regional title. Waunakee was second with a 302, while third place Sauk Prairie (315) and fourth place Madison Memorial (317) also qualified for sectionals.  Madison West (318), Verona (325), Mount Horeb (329) and Madison East (inc.) rounded out the regional scores. “I was really proud of all of the guys in how they pulled together and battled,” Frey said. “It was a really fun day, despite being pulled off the course several times.” Senior Colin Harrington and sophomore Graysen Dunn and fired 77s to lead the Eagles. Harrington picked the perfect time to have his best round of year. Harrington made four birdies on the day, including three on the back nine where he fired a sizzling 36. “It was fun to watch him during that round,” Frey said of Harrington. “He was having fun and was super excited about qualifying for sectionals.”  After shooting a 41 on the front nine, Dunn had a sensational back nine with five pars, three bogeys and a birdie at No. 18. “Graysen Dunn had a really good day,” Frey said. “He made a huge birdie on the 18th hole to keep us right in the mix for the team sectional berth.” Senior Garret Mittelstaedt carded a 78 that included a 36 on the back nine and seven straight pars to finish his round. “Garret started his day with a double-bogey, but just kept grinding away,” Frey said. “He made a clutch par on the last hole to secure our third place team finish.” And junior Gavin Goetsch shot an 83 that helped lift the Eagles into sectionals. “Gavin Goetsch also played a really good round of golf,” Frey said. “He didn’t quite finish the way he wanted to, but should still be very proud of himself.   “What really impressed me most about his round was his solid response after making a triple-bogey on hole No. 7. He showed a lot of resilience by going 1-over through the tough stretch of holes 8-10.” The Eagles were thrilled to qualify for sectionals, where just two of the eight teams will now qualify for the state meet, which will be held June 3-4 at Blackwolf Run in Kohler. “We are excited for sectionals at Blackhawk Country Club,” Frey said. “We all played the course for regionals last year, so we have experience playing there. We will get a practice round in to give us another chance to see the course.   “There will be some great teams there and it will be a good test for us. The great thing about it is that we all get a chance to tee it up one more time. Each one of the boys can play and you never know what can happen on any given day. I am looking to seeing how it plays out.”