The sport to begin during the fall season, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School golf team is off to a rousing start.
The Spartans are undefeated in dual matches and carry a perfect 6-0 record into their next match at 4 p.m. Wednesday against Danville at Turtle Run Golf Course in Danville.
Junior Ashten Cafarelli and senior Jacob Kern have set the tone for the Spartans through the first two full weeks of the season, with steady contributions from seniors McGwire Atwood and Maddux Carter giving SJO a solid top four scorers.
SJO shot a season-best 172 during a triangular with Fisher and Hoopeston Area at Willow Pond Golf Course in Rantoul this past Thursday, easily topping the 203 compiled by Fisher and 237 registered by Hoopeston Area.
Cafarelli won medalist honors with a 38, while Kern (43), Atwood (44) and Carter (47) followed with superb rounds. Senior Jack Robertson (49) and junior Tyler Buss (51) also had stellar nine-hole scores, but they didn’t crack the top four necessary to account for the team total.
This past Wednesday, SJO topped Schlarman and Salt Fork in a triangular match at Danville Country Club. The Spartans recorded a team score of 175, 24 strokes better than Schlarman (199) and 46 strokes better than Salt Fork (221). Cafarelli had the top score with a round of 39, while teammates Kern (42) and Atwood (43) weren’t far behind. Maddux Carter had a 51 for SJO’s fourth and final team score.
On Aug. 17, the Spartans compiled a team score of 181 to top Oakwood (201) and Westville (264) in a triangular match at Harrison Park. Cafarelli won medalist honors with a 40, while Kern carded a 42. Atwood (49) and Maddux Carter (50) also had steady rounds for SJO.
Other early-season highlights for the Spartans include Cafarelli placing sixth at the Urbana Tiger Kick-off Classic on Aug. 15 at Urbana Country Club, with Cafarelli shooting a round of 78 during the 18-hole tournament.
The Spartans also placed fifth at the 10-team Champaign Central Invitational on Aug. 12 at the University of Illinois Golf Course in Savoy.
Cafarelli placed second individually with a 75, while Kern wasn’t far off the pace and finished with a 79.
After Wednesday’s match against Danville, SJO will then hit the links again on Thursday for a triangular match with Monticello and Rantoul/Paxton-Buckley-Loda at 4 p.m. at Willow Pond Golf Course in Rantoul. The Spartans will return to Turtle Run at 1 p.m. Friday to play in Danville’s Viking Scramble.
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