Free State golfers third at league

photo by: Richard Gwin

Free State sophomore Tate Steele chips on to the green during the LHS Invitational on Wednesday at Eagle Bend.

Free State High junior golfer Jack Junge told his coaches earlier this week that he wanted to play in the top group at the Lawrence Invitational on Wednesday at Eagle Bend.

Junge’s thinking was if he wanted to be the best, he had to beat the best.

In the last round of the Sunflower League tournament, Junge limited his mistakes and fired a season-low 75, finishing eighth at the tournament and fifth in the league. He helped the Firebirds finish third in both the tournament and league standings.

Junge, playing alongside Shawnee Mission East’s Andy Spencer and SM Northwest’s Blake Allen, said the nerves went away after the first tee box. Spencer repeated as the league’s individual champion, and Allen was runner-up. Allen won Wednesday’s tournament, carding a 2-under 70.

“I was hitting a lot of greens,” Junge said. “I hit seven greens in a row in the front. I was just making pars and letting the birdies come on their own.”

Throughout the season, Junge has turned into his team’s most consistent golfer. His biggest strength is hitting fairways, and he has only added to it by drilling greens. Last year, he was the opposite of consistent but has cut down on his mistakes.

Junge’s only negative throughout the afternoon was a double bogey on the 16th hole.

“He’s got the game to play with those two guys,” Free State coach Chuck Law said of Junge. “There’s no doubt about it. I think, maybe, he proved that to himself today.”

Along with Junge, Free State freshman Landon Berquist shot a season-best 77. He worked on his short game throughout practice on Tuesday, and it paid off, setting himself up with easy putts.

“I hadn’t been playing well so it was a good confidence boost,” Berquist said.

World Company Cup

Here are the standings for the World Company Cup, which tallies head-to-head meetings between the city’s two large-class high schools over the course of a school year. For sports that do not meet head-to-head, the point is awarded to the team that places higher in the first postseason meeting.

FSHS LHS

Football 0 1

Girls tennis 1 0

Boys soccer .5 .5

Gymnastics 0 1

Boys cross country 1 0

Girls cross country 1 0

Volleyball 1 0

Boys basketball 0 2

Girls basketball 0 2

Wrestling 1 0

Boys bowling 1 0

Girls bowling 0 1

Boys track 0 1

Girls track 1 0

Boys tennis 1 0

Girls soccer 0 1

Softball 2 0

Baseball 1 0

Boys golf 1 0

Totals 12.5 9.5

Free State sophomores Tate Steele and Will Cook followed by shooting 81s. Cook took eighth in the league and Steele placed ninth.

The Firebirds, who are without senior Jack Flynn because of disciplinary reasons, placed third in the league for the second straight season. After winning the first leg of the league, the Firebirds know they are capable of playing with the top teams. They shot a 314 on Wednesday, 20 strokes back from SM East.

“That’s a pretty good score today,” Law said. “I think I need to not go out on the course and watch them sometimes because I watched us throw away a lot of shots. That’s something that we can’t afford to do on Monday when you’re going into a regional.”

Lawrence High finished seventh in Wednesday’s tournament, led by junior Cole Brungardt, who shot a season-best 76. His top two rounds this season are both at Eagle Bend.

Brungardt, who was disappointed with his round on Monday with an 85, tied for 10th in the league. The Lions took seventh in the league’s team standings.

“He’s worked really hard,” LHS coach Dirk Wedd said of Brungardt. “He’s a junior and he’s taken some responsibility. That’s a positive.”

Behind Brungardt, Braxton Olson and Thomas Taber both shot an 84. Dawson Dykes and Garrett Wildeman followed with an 85.

It was the best round of the season for Taber by five strokes.

“It’s very encouraging,” Taber said. “It just shows how much I’ve improved this year. I know I can do better still.”

Wedd added: “We left a lot of strokes out there. We didn’t play as well as we wanted to obviously. But we’ve got a practice round tomorrow and then we’ve got regionals. We’re still searching for that one round where everybody hits at the same time.”

Both schools will play in regionals at 9 a.m. Monday at Brookridge Country Club in Prairie Village.

Lawrence Invitational

Wednesday at Eagle Bend Golf Course

Team Scores: SM East 294, SM Northwest 297, Free State 314, Olathe East 315, Olathe South 316, SM South 319, Lawrence 329, Olathe Northwest 343, SM West 361, SM North 437, Leavenworth 446.

Medalists: 1. Blake Allen, SMNW, 70; 2. Andy Spencer, SME, 71; 3. Thomas Luger, SME, 73; 4. Joe Bultman, SMNW, 73; 5. Christian Ghilardi, SMNW, 73; 6. Jake Mankin, SMS, 74; 7. Owen Hill, SME, 74; 8. Jack Junge, FS, 75; 9. Jackson Likes, OS, 75; 10. Matt Thompson, OS, 75.

Free State results: 8. Jack Junge, 75; 13. Landon Berquist, 77; t-19. Tate Steele, 81; t-19. Will Cook, 81; t-27. Dylan Sommer, 84; t-38. Bailey Pfannenstiel, 87.

Lawrence High results: t-11. Cole Brungardt, 76; t-27. Braxton Olson, 84; t-27. Thomas Taber, 84; t-31. Dawson Dykes, 85; t-31. Garrett Wildeman, 85; t-40. Ross Brungardt, 88.

Sunflower League Final Standings

(Three 18-hole rounds)

Team scores: SM Northwest 914, SM East 925, Free State 954, Olathe East 969, SM South 999, Olathe Northwest 1003, Lawrence 1016, Olathe South 1022, SM West 1128, Leavenworth 1365, SM North 1478.

Medalists: 1. Andy Spencer, SME, 215; 2. Blake Allen, SMNW, 216; 3. Joe Bultman, SMNW, 224; 4. Christian Ghilardi, SMNW, 227; 5. Jack Junge, FS, 233; 6. Thomas Luger, SME, 236; 7. Jack Mankin, SMS, 237; 8. Will Cook, FS, 240; 9. Tate Steele, FS, 242; t-10. Cole Brungardt, LHS, 243; t-10. Matt Thompson, OS, 243.

Free State results: 5. Jack Junge, 233; 8. Will Cook, 240; 9. Tate Steele, 242; 14. Landon Berquist, 246; t-28. Bailey Pfannenstiel, 265.

Lawrence High results: t-10. Cole Brungardt, 243; t-20. Garrett Wildeman, 257; t-23. Dawson Dykes, 260; 31. Thomas Taber, 267; 32. Ross Brungardt, 270.