Parker Burman-
This past weekend, the Gustavus Men’s golf team participated in two separate matches on different ends of the country, with one team in Massachusetts and the other in Minnesota. As a team, the Gusties finished third at the Williams Invitational and tied for fifth at the Saint John’s Fall Invite. However, Junior Jack Reinardy took home the individual title as he helped lead the Gusties.
One squad of Gustie golfers took to the course in Williamstown, Massachusetts at the Taconic Country Club for the Williams Invitational. Reinardy finished first overall in a field of 113 golfers, to headline a good weekend from the Gusties. The victory was the first of Reinhardy’s collegiate career.
“That was my first collegiate win. It felt good to play well in a field with lots of really good players,” Reinardy said.
After a first day of competition that saw the Gusties sitting in fifth, Reinhardy put the team on his back to move them up two spots by the end of competition on day two. Finishing the weekend with a card of 68-73-141, Reinhardy tallied a total of nine birdies through the two rounds.
Not to be outdone, Sophomore Chris Gutuza jumped an impressive 17 spots on the final day on the course to finish just behind his teammate for a third place finish, carding a 75-68-143. Sophomore Pelayo Perez Crespo took 44th place to finish in the top half of the competition with a card of 78-76-154. Senior Tommy Hiniker and Junior Teddy Kaste rounded out the team’s third place east coast finish, with the pair carding a 81-75-156 and a 81-81-162, respectively.
“After round 1, I was not impressed with my performance. I scored 75 (+4) while playing some good golf. The bad round was due to a lack of focus later in the round. I then put together a plan to fix it by staying more aggressive in my mindset and making sure I ate and drank enough throughout the round to keep my energy levels up. This helped me play a better round and move up the 17 spots,” said Gutuza.
Back in Sartell, Minnesota at the Saint John’s Fall Invite, the Gusties put on a strong performance to earn themselves a fifth place finish across the two-day event. Their fifth place finish left them tied with host Saint John’s who had beat the Gusties in a head to head match up earlier this month.
First-year Blake Forrest led the team with a score card of 75-74-149 for a twelfth place finish at the event, showing the strong youth that this Gustavus Men’s team has. Sophomore Wyatt Carlson and Junior Cameron Longie managed to tie for 24th place during the event, with each having scores of 154 through both rounds. Junior Caleb McBee finished in a tie for 29th with a 76-79-155, while Senior Khrystjan Petersen round out the Gustie top-five with a 82-84-166.
“After a bit of challenging play yesterday, we came back to shoot a great round to move up to third,” said Assistant Coach Randy Stuckey. “Our putting was the major difference today, and that comes with smart approach shots into very tough greens. A big congratulations to Jack Reinardy who earned medalist honors. All parts of his game were on this weekend and fun to watch. Chris Gutuza carved up the course today with solid play and mental toughness. Before the round we talked about resilience — the ability to adapt and move on from adversity, and that’s what the guys did. Now onto preparing for the Twin Cities Classic next weekend followed by the MIAC Tournament.”
The Gustavus Men will now host the Twin Cities Classic this weekend, which will be held at three different courses; Elk River Golf Club, Links at Northfork, and at Le Sueur Country Club. After having the team split up on different ends of the country, the Gusties are looking forward to getting a chance to play together at home. Reinhardy is looking forward to the challenge of winning back to back competitions, with this one being on his home course.
“I think the advantage of playing our home course this weekend is we have more experience and knowledge than any other team we play against,” Reinardy said.