OSCODA – The bad news is that as a team, Oscoda’s golf season is over. The good news is that freshman Jack Poland will advance to the state finals, thanks to his top three performance at the Division 3 regional meet on Tuesday, May 26, held at Red Hawk Golf Club in Tawas.
The Owls shot an 18-hole team score of 373. Elk Rapids is regional champion with a 340, Traverse City St. Francis was second with a 343 and Boyne City placed third, after getting a team score of 352.
“We didn’t have our best day, we put in a lot of effort and extra rounds at Red Hawk leading up but we just had a tough day on a very difficult golf course,” head coach Dean Caldwell said. “Seth Gutierrez did shoot a solid 93 for us and then we had Jack’s 83 but we were missing two more quality scores to really compete for those top three positions.”
Poland finished third and Gutierrez was 31st. Shane Ellis finished 46th on a round of 97, Alex Clarke was 59th with a 100 and Cole Gerow placed 78th thanks to his round of 110.
“Jack did qualify as an individual after prevailing in a playoff,” Caldwell said. “He is the second straight Owl to qualify for states as an individual after Jack LeClair did it last year. This is a tremendous accomplishment for a freshman. We have been out working daily to get him ready for next week (at the state finals).”
The Division 3 golf finals are Friday and Saturday at Bedford Valley in Battle Creek, where Poland will look to cap off a solid debut varsity season.
“Overall, it was a tremendously successful season for the Owls,” Caldwell said. “A first ever Huron Cup Championship, a first league championship since 1978, and sent another individual golfer to states. We continue to get better every year and although we are losing a few important seniors that helped to build this program into what it is, we expect to reload and be even better next season.”