Swinging low: Blue Dragon golfers start season well

By Greta Klein
Sports Editor
X: gmklein32

With the sunshine on the skin, dewy grass beneath the shoes, and thwock sounds of clubs hitting balls in the breeze, the men’s golf season is in full swing for Hutchinson Community College.

The Blue Dragons have competed in two meets where they both placed well as a team and individually.

Traveling on Sept. 16-17 to Pueblo, Colo., the Blue Dragons played in the Sam Proal Invitational placing second and scoring an 847. CSU-Pueblo won the classic by one point less than the Blue Dragons.

HutchCC not only had strong individual performances but also played well as a team. Sophomores Charlie Box and David Razinskas went first and third in the tournament, where Box scored a 203 and Razinskas a 211. Freshman Jaydon Carruthers tied for ninth, shooting 215 and freshman Jack Northgraves placed 13th with a 218.

“This year, everyone’s kind of joined together to just get the best results for the team,” Box said. “Last year we had a few individuals that just wanted to play for himself, but this year we all realized what it is to be a team and make sure everyone’s together.”

The second tournament HutchCC attended was the Bent Tree Intercollegiate in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The Blue Dragons completed a dominant run to be champions with a score of 852.

The No. 3-ranked HutchCC team had three golfers placing in the top three individual slots. Northgraves joined Box as individual winners this season, having an 8-under 208. Northgraves led from the start to finish with a tournament-low 66 in the opening round and then closed the tournament with an even-par 72.

“It’s been good,” Northgraves said. “It’s nice to get a win early on, especially since this is my first year. (I would like) to earn some tournaments coming up. And hopefully get another one (win) before the end of the semester would be nice. The main thing is that the team is doing well.”

Box and Razinskas tied for second individually at 3-under 213. Box had the Blue Dragons’ low round of the final round with a 2-under 70. Razinskas shot a second-straight 72 after opening with a 69 in the first round.

Along with Northgraves’ impressive finish, sophomore Louis Ross finished in 11th place at 221 after a final-round 75. Carruthers placed 18th at 226.

Blue Dragons’ freshman Cal Schultz had a strong recovery after opening with an 80, as he came back with a 75 and posted a season-low 73 to finish 22nd at 228. Schultz jumped 10 spots in the standings. Freshman individual Tyler Schultz placed 33rd at 234 after a final-round 81.

With the season just beginning – the golf national championship is contested in the spring – it is hard to tell the competitive individuals specifically but the Blue Dragons still have goals in mind.

“Our goals every year are to win the conference, win the district, and qualify for the national tournament,” Blue Dragons coach Chris Young said. “Then do as well as we can at the national tournament, whether it’s winning top three, top five, top 10. Whatever it is, it’s so early in the season that you don’t really know what everybody else has.”

With the meets the Blue Dragons have competed in, there are only a few other schools that HutchCC may pay attention to.

“I would have to say Midland, Odessa, and Indian Hills, who won it two years ago (are our competition),” Young said. “I say we’re one of the four that have the chance to win it all right now.”

Young shows credit to each member of his team while knowing they are all individually skilled and understands that in the end, it takes a team to succeed.

“David’s really improved,” Young said. “He’s been under par in both tournaments. He’s finished in the top five in both tournaments we played in, which is fantastic. And he’s going to get some division one looks.”

No matter if you are new to HutchCC golf or not, the recognition for a job well done is there.

“And then also Louis Ross, who’s been here for a little while,” Young said. “Louis is more than capable, I think he just has to figure it out a little bit mentally right now where he’s at. I think even Jaden, he’s very capable of shooting under par. So as far as the standout, I think if we’re going to win a national title or even a conference time I think it’s got to be the team, and not one guy type thing.”

From only having two tournaments so far, the Blue Dragons have shown their abilities and executed.

“I think our depth is good,” Young said. “I wish we maybe had one or two more players, just to kind of keep pushing people, but we might add a player at the semester. If we do that, that will increase our depth a little bit. But all seven guys on the team I really like and I think they work hard.”

The Blue Dragons’ third fall tournament will be Monday and Tuesday at the Grier Jones Shocker Classic at Sand Creek Station in Newton.

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