Parker Bergman – Staff Writer
This past week both the Gustavus Men’s and Women’s golf teams competed at the MIAC Championships. Playing at Bunker Hills Golf Club the men finished third out of nine teams competing, while the women finished sixth out of the ten who competed.
On the men’s side the Gusties were led by Senior Wyatt Wasko and Senior Sam Sakaar, who both placed in the top 10 overall. Wasko finished in sixth and Sakaar in 10th to secure both of them All-Championship Team honors. On the women’s side Junior Annika Reierson and Senior Laurel Ward finished in 14th and tied for 17th.
The Gustavus men in their third place finish fell only 14 strokes behind second place Bethel and only 27 strokes back of first place St. John’s. The Gustavus Women on the other hand finished a total of 80 strokes back from first place Carleton College, who as a team finished with a combined score of 912.
“Obviously, we went into the week wanting to win, but for us to get third was a good finish. We had four guys that didn’t play in the MIAC championship last year, so I am proud of how the guys battled and not giving up when they went through some of the adversity that they had on the course,” Wasko said.
Individually the men performed well, placing four golfers in the top 18 and two in the top 10. Wasko led the Gusties with a 75-71-75-221 carding, followed by Sakaar’s 74-75-75-224. Sophomore Cam Longie finished in a tie for 16th with a 76-77-74-227 with First-year Chris Gutuza rounding out the top Gustie men with a 79-76-73-228 for 18th.
“As always the season feels very short, so playing in the MIAC came and went by fast. Felt great to play in some big events we prepared for all year,” Longie said.
“I’m very happy for Sam. He has worked hard over the past couple of years, and when he finally got his chance to play in the MIAC championships this year he took advantage of it and got top 10. He has stepped up in a big way this year, and it has been very fun to watch his effort and hard work pay off,” Wasko said.
The women’s team wound up placing sixth. Reierson finished the three day event with an 80-80-78–238 good for +19. Ward fell only four strokes behind Reierson at the Championship for 83-80-79-242. The other three Gusties to place within the top 47 were Senior Kristin Martens, First-year Emily Kolb and Senior Zada Olig.
“It was very fun playing at the MIAC Championship and I think all of us on the team tried our best and never gave up throughout the round. We definitely could have played better during the tournament but I think we kept working hard and we all would bounce back after a tough hole. It was a unique experience to be leading the team but I think any of us could have been, depending on the weekend or round,” Reierson said.
This weekend the Gusties will head down to Destin, Florida to wrap up their fall season in the D3 Golfweek Challenge. “The team is prepared and ready to go for Golfweek. We have had plenty of time to prepare and have nothing to lose going into our last fall event,” Longie said.
“It is the biggest event all fall for D3, so with that we are hoping to play well and put ourselves in a good spot going into the spring season. The guys are very excited, as well as I am. I played well at the event last year, and I’m hoping to keep that going come this weekend,” Wasko said.
Getting a chance to play in Florida will, hopefully, allow both the Gustavus men’s and women’s to finish their seasons on high notes, and to better position themselves for the spring season.
“I think the mindset heading into Golfweek is to play fun and relaxed golf. I think during conference we were very nervous and didn’t know what to expect but going into this week, our mentality is different. We want to play confidently and take advantage of the warm weather in Florida,” Reierson said.