A three-peat?
That’s what the Rolla High School boys’ golf team is hoping to pull off this spring.
The Bulldog golfers have won the district tournament championship and advanced on as a full team to the Missouri Class 4 State Tournament the past two seasons.
If RHS is going to make it three in a row some young golfers are going to have to come through.
Rolla is scheduled to play at Lebanon March 30 to open the 2010 campaign.
“The kids have been great,” said RHS golf coach Zack Nixon. “They’ve been out until dark every day practicing. They’ve been practicing real hard; they’ve really progressed during the last couple of weeks.”
The Bulldogs have four varsity lettermen back this season. However, three of the five RHS players who won the district tourney and competed at the state meet have graduated. Lost to graduation were Chris Martin, playing at William Woods this season; Brandon Weaver, who had collegiate golf offers but is not playing this spring, and Ryan Maples.
Varsity lettermen back for the Bulldogs include seniors Will Baylor and Luke Singer, junior David Drewniak and sophomore Mike Miller.
Baylor and Drewniak both played at the state meet last season. Baylor is a two-time state tourney participant, earning all-state honors two years ago. Drewniak won district medalist honors at Old Kinderhook Country Club last spring.
Both Baylor and Drewniak look to have nailed down two varsity positions. The other three spots has been a dogfight in practice between Singer, Miller, senior Kyle Keebey, junior Blake Duncan, junior Kory Carter, sophomore Dalton Brown, freshman Michael Steelman and sophomore James Gamblin.
“It’s a pretty competitive list,” Nixon said. “Will and David are 1-2 then there are six or seven guys competing for the last three spots.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how it turns out. The lineup could be constantly changing. But we’re looking for Will and David to lead the team. They’ve already had rounds under par. The rest of them in contention have all been around par.”
Nixon says Springfield Glendale will be the team to beat in the Ozark Conference.
“Usually in the conference it’s always Glendale,” he said. “Glendale is always tough.
Rolla will try to win its third straight district title in the Missouri Class 4 District 5 Tournament this season, which will be held May 6 in Old Hawthorne Golf Course in Columbia. Rolla will be joined in the district meet by Camdenton, Columbia Hickman, Jefferson City, Lebanon, Columbia Rock Bridge, Sedalia Smith-Cotton, Washington, Waynesville and West Plains.
