LINKS: While Rochester Came Away With the Win, Centralia’s Jesse Kuykendall Won Match Medalist
After starting the season 0-3, Rochester has now won two straight matches, both against Centralia, after beating the Tigers 288-304 on Wednesday at Riverside Golf Course.
Centralia’s Jesse Kuykendall won match medalist by five strokes, shooting an even 50 on the day. But it was Rochester that put together the best team performance, even with their worst score of the season.
“We didn’t shoot especially well today, but we shot better than they did,” Rochester coach Eric Holmkvist said.
Warriors’ junior Brady Moen rebounded from a tough match on Friday to lead Rochester with a 55.
“He’s had so much growth over the course of the season,” Holmkvist said. “We’re really proud of him. He’s really made a ton of progress.”
Teammate Xavier Mendez continued his solid play, shooting a 56, while Luke Barth shot a 57, Hyde Parrish a 58 and Gabe Steward a 62. Steward, a freshman, was playing in his first varsity league match ever. The Warriors improved to 2-3 on the season.
For Centralia, Kuykendall led all golfers with a 50, while Brady Sprague and Andrew Mitchell each shot a 61, Wyatt Baumel a 65 and freshman Tig Hedger a 67.
“They improved more than we improved,” Centralia coach Hal Gronseth said. “It was fun to see Jesse be match medalist again. He still isn’t playing his best golf yet either. Hopefully we can get him down a few strokes before districts.”
Rochester has three regular-season matchups left and next hosts W.F. West on Monday at Riverside Golf Course. Centralia has two regular-season games left and travels to Aberdeen on Monday.