MINNEAPOLIS — At the Minneapolis meet April 9, the golf team found success, earning a third place finish and new individual medals.

As the team continues to settle into the rhythm of the sport, each player is beginning to find progress on competition days.

Sophomore Cooper McGowan and senior Sam Karst walked away from the tournament as top-10 medalists.

For McGowan, the Minneapolis meet marked his first golf medal. Out of a total 24 golfers, he finished in eighth place.

“I placed by staying calm and relaxed throughout the whole meet,” McGowan said.

Close behind McGowan, Karst placed ninth overall. As a senior with some of the most experience on the team, he knows how to find the success he strives for each meet.

“What led me to placing in the Minneapolis tournament is the hard work throughout these past four years, using what I’ve learned from coach and my own self-discipline and extreme patience to aim and hit my shots correctly,” Karst said.

With every medal comes the challenges faced to earn it. Karst described how his mindset controls his performance on the course.

“Some challenges I faced at the meet was a lot of inner pressure, like wondering, ‘What would happen if I hit a bad shot? How would it affect my score?’,” Karst said. “If I overthought when I was going to swing I would end up not hitting correctly. I overcame this pressure by calming myself down and not worrying too much about what would happen, but on what is happening in that moment.”

While McGowan and Karst were the only golfers to earn a medal, the rest of the team also represented the Bearcats well at the meet.

Senior Avery Holecek, finishing only one spot shy of a medal, came in 10th overall.

Sophomore Elyse Haxton finished in 13th and sophomore Braylyn Gardner placed 17th.

The achievements the Cats found in Minneapolis only further encouraged their efforts to improve and work for more meets as successful as this.

Only the top two teams medaled at the tournament, and Ellsworth finished just three shots short of a medal. The third place team finish left Head Coach Darin Holecek proud of how the team is improving.

“I am pleased with the progress of the team,” Holecek said. “They are getting more and more comfortable at tournaments. They are gaining valuable experience each time on the course.”

The golf team will travel to Beloit April 18.

“I placed by staying calm and relaxed throughout the whole meet.”

Cooper McGowan Golf Team Member