Blue Jays take second in golf regionals

The Three Lakes-Phelps varsity golf team continued to shoot well last week, finishing the WIAA Division 3 Regional tournament in second place, just four strokes away from conference competitor Crandon High School.  Grayson Polcaster and Levi Lurvey led the team in scoring for the Bluejays as the team headed to a second-straight Division 3 Sectional, which took place early this week at Golden Sands Golf Course near Green Bay.

Final scores were not available as this edition went to press, but if the Bluejays finish the sectional meet as one of the top two teams, or if any individual Bluejay finished as a top-three golfer of remaining teams, the next stop will be a chance to compete in the 2025 State Championship next week in Madison.

Polcaster and Lurvey have been the leaders of the Bluejays for the entire season, and each shot a matching 83 last Tuesday at Bass Lake Golf Course just south of Elcho. Both have posted lower scores at this venue in the past, but Bluejays head coach Michele Brown was pleased with the way they, and the entire team, played in the regional meet.  

“I was very happy with the second-place finish at Bass Lake,” she said.  “We have finished in one of the top-two spots several times this year and with just a few breaks last week, we could have finished first in the regional.”

One of those bad breaks was the outstanding performance of Reid Votis, of Crandon High School, who shot a one-under 70 in his round, putting up seven birdies to lead the field by 12 strokes.  

“We were right there with Crandon in scoring,” Brown said, “but because of the impressive round by Reid, the Cardinals were able to pull it off.  If he shoots his usual score just under 80, we would be in first place, but we cannot control other players and we certainly had our chances.” 

While Polcaster and Lurvey tied for third place in the regional meet, Sean Wallschlaeger was the only other top-ten golfer for the Jays, posting a 90 on his card, good for a ninth-place tie.  Matthew Klein and Jack Westfall rounded out the Bluejays' scorecard with top-20 rounds of 92 and 94, respectively.  The Bluejays had a team score of 348, trailing Crandon with 344 points.  Teams from Laona-Wabeno and Crivitz also advanced to the sectional tournament with their 377 and 394 team score performances.

The Bluejays also played their final regular season meet last Saturday at the Hodag Invitational in Rhinelander, where the Jays finished in second place at Northwood Golf Club.  The host team from Rhinelander finished in first place on a cold, windy day when only one golfer, Sam Schoppe of Rhinelander, was able to break 80, and nearly half of the field shot 100 or higher.  Lurvey was tied for second place with an 83 in the meet, with Polcaster just behind him in sixth place with an 86 score.

Wallschlaeger and Klein trailed with scores of 92 and 99 for the varsity squad.  The event also drew a close to the season for the JV team, with Owen Liebscher shooting a 90 to lead the Jays.

Coach Brown was optimistic heading to the sectional tournament this week, but knew the team would have to cut some strokes to get past this round.  

“I like our chances of finishing in the top half in the sectional, but it will take the best of what we have to advance,” she said.  “We have been putting up some good scores and I know we can go even lower.  Whatever happens, I am excited for these kids.”

The 2025 State Championship meet will take place next Monday and Tuesday, June 9 and 10, at University Ridge in Madison.