Posted: 4/12/06
Plenty of opportunities for young golfers
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Joe Drennan
Sports Editor
Graduation hit the Forest Lake High School boys golf team hard as six players graduated, including state participant Noah Lawson.
ìWe have a lot of young guys this year who love to play golf and played a lot of it last year,î Rangers head coach John Buck said. ìOnly time will tell how weíll be.î
Last yearís top golfers, Lawson, Adam and Jacob Svenkeson, Mark Moberg, Brad Lange and Evan Dahl all graduated, leaving holes that will be filled by younger golfers with little to no varsity experience.
Lawson had a stellar senior year, placing fifth at the state tournament, and Jacob Svenkeson earned All-Conference honors with Moberg honorable mention.
This season Buck is going to be looking to junior Kyle Lewis to step up and be a full time contributor. Lewis is also the golfer that Buck is calling his captain.
ìHe led us in a few tournaments last year, and I expect him to be a leader for us this year,î Buck said.
Sophomore Andrew Kelly is another golfer whom Buck is expecting to help lead the team. Kelly took second at the Suburban East Conference junior varsity meet last year, and won several other meets.
Eighth grader Doug Jeans played some varsity events last year and placed third at the SEC JV meet last year.
ìI had a lot of seniors with talent that caused me not to play him (Jeans) on varsity last year,î Buck said. ìIt would have been a different year had Doug (Jeans) and Andrew (Kelly) gotten more opportunities on varsity.î
Joe Pelton and Peter Follese are two more golfers that should contribute. Both Pelton and Follese shot in the 30s last season. Sophomore Jeremy Tetrault should contribute as well after consistently shooting in the 80s on 18 holes. Ninth grader Paul Moberg is a golfer who shot in the 80s on JV last year as well.
ìIím cautiously optimistic about the season,î Buck said. ìI think people are going to think that weíre down, but I think we can surprise some people by the end of the year.î
Buck says the team can improve real fast because theyíre all ìcourse rats,î but if they donít he says it wonít surprise him.
Competition
Woodbury advanced to the state meet last year and placed high and now has most of its golfers back for this season, causing Buck to pick them as the early season favorites in the SEC.
Roseville is another successful team from last year that has the majority of its golfers back and should be right behind Woodbury.
ìWhite Bear Lake is always tough, but they lost a few kids, so I think after them we should all be jumbled together,î Buck said.
In Section 7AA Grand Rapids has a number of golfers back from its state team of last year, putting them atop the preseason predictions. Buck says Chisago Lakes, Anoka and Elk River are other teams the Rangers will have to keep an eye on.
ìI think like last year I am hoping that we qualify for the second day of the section tournament as a team,î Buck said.
The Rangers next meet is at 12:45 p.m. today, Thursday, at Cretin-Derham Hall.
Forest Lake Times
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