LAKE GENEVA - The Carthage College men's golf team wrapped up the Firebird Fall Classic on Monday and Tuesday, shooting a team score of 598 (289+309) for second place during the meet.
Tanner Angelstad and James Tyrrell led the Firebirds with solid finishes. Angelstad tied for 7th place with a score of 148 (71-77), while Tyrrell also tied for 11th place with 152 (75-77). Nick Barry matched Tyrrell's position with a score of 149 (73-76), just two strokes behind.
Alex Lilly ended the competition with a score of 153 (70-83), landing in 11th place, and Brett Vandergrift finished tied for 53rd with a score of 159 (80-79). Elliot Leibham posted a score of 163 (78-85), tying for 68th place.
Carthage's additional competitors included Wesley Hollis, Ethan Frasch, and Logan Westman, who all tied for 71st place. Hollis shot 88-76, Frasch 83-81, and Westman 85-79. Andrew Schmidt rounded out the list with a score of 166 (81-85), tying for 84th place.
"Hawks View is a fantastic golf course and presents a great test. Coming out on Day one and shooting one over par as a team, with Alex and Tanner breaking par, was an excellent indicator of our potential.
Unfortunately, the weight of expectations of being in first place and leading a strong Aurora squad by six strokes led to some mistakes on day two, and we eventually lost our mojo and unraveled a bit.
Aurora was ranked in the top 20 in the country last year and probably will have a similar rank this year, yet we had them on the ropes. Hopefully, we can utilize this next time we put ourselves in the same position. Great teams love to be the leader, the team everyone else is gunning for. Time will tell if we can develop those skills and that confidence.
Now, if we look at these two days through a different lens, we can see that we convincingly beat all the 13 other schools, our second team beat seven other varsity squads, and our 3rd team beat four other varsity teams. Our depth is impressive, and we need everyone to keep outworking the competition while pushing each other to improve."
Carthage will play in the Wisconsin Lutheran Fall Invite which starts September 14 at Washington County Golf Course.
