TJ Leverentz/Winonan
The Winona State men’s golf team competed in the Heart of American Invitational Oct. 7-8, where they finished sixth as a team.
The Warriors started off the tournament shooting a 297 with all golfers breaking 80. Alex Zeyen, Tyler Schumde and Jake Olsonski led the Warriors each with 74. Mitch Holm came in with a 75, and Luke Bollant finished with a 78.
Alternate golfer Mike Wiebe said, “It was good to see the guys go low in the early going. It gives them confidence going into the next day.”
The Warriors matched their second highest round of the season on day two. Zeyen was the low man for the Warriors with a 72. Schumde followed with a 73, Holm finished with 75, and both Olosnski and Bollant finished the day with 79.
“It was a tough day, but we didn’t have any big scores, which helped us going into the final day,” Wiebe said.
Alex Zeyen led the Warriors to a season best 293 with a three under par 69 in the final round, which was the second lowest score of the tournament. Holm posted a 74, Schumde and Olsonski each shot 75 and Bollant came in with a 78.
“It was cool seeing the guys play so well over a three day stretch,” Wiebe said.
The Warriors placed sixth with a three-day total of 891. All 15 of their rounds were in the 70s, marking the first time this season all Warriors have gone through a tournament without any scores in the 80s.
On an individual basis, all Warrior golfers earned top 100 honors. Zeyen’s final round score of 69 propelled him to a fourth overall finish with a three-day total of 215.
Schumde was the second lowest Warrior, posting a three-day score of 22, which earned him a tie for 28th place honors.
Holm was the third lowest Warrior, finishing tied for 39th with a total score of 226. Olsonski earned a tie for 51st place thanks to a total of 228 and Bollant’s total of 235 earned him a tie for 78th.
“We played very good this week,” Holm said. “Our region is full of tough competition and it was good to see us have a solid showing before the regional crossover.”
This season, the Warriors have improved in the final round of every tournament by an average of 8.6 shots.
“I would attribute it to us not giving up knowing that we can always do better,” Holm said.
Holm has significantly contributed to the weekly turnaround. As a sophomore, Holm has averaged a 76 in 10 rounds this season.
Holm said he attributes his year to playing smarter in each round.
Holm also has saved shots around the green with his short game.
“I’ve been able to get up and down from some tough spots,” Holm said. Holm’s short game has helped him earn the second best scoring average on the team as well as two top-25 finishes.
Winona State concludes its fall lineup in St. Joseph, Mo. Oct 14-15 with the Central Region Crossover Tournament.
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