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Washington Evening Journal
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Bridgewater ties for first amid injury recovery
Lortz hits shot of the evening on hole six, cards lone eagle
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
BROOKLYN — BGM’s Ethan Bridgewater loves the game of golf, and being seven weeks out from a torn meniscus was not going to stop him from competing in his junior season.
The Bears’ junior made his season debut for the BGM boys, protective brace and all, at the team’s home co-ed triangular Thursday at Brooklyn-Victor Country Club.
“He loves the game, and I don’t think anyone was going to keep him off the course,” BGM coach Jerod Burns said. “When he was three weeks removed from surgery, he was already out here chipping and putting with us.”
Bridgewater is a returning first-team all conference honoree for BGM and maybe did better than expected in his first competition back on a day with less than ideal conditions.
“I just love golf and I want to play any chance I get,” Bridgewater said.
It took some convincing to get his parents to let him play, but Bridgewater made the most of it, scoring a 39 through the nine-hole par 35, tying for first.
Super-windy conditions and some light rain on a super hilly course and tough greens made for a tough day to score low.
“They were troopers today, and conditions were horrible,” Burns said.
Bridgewater tied with teammate Robby Tometich for first along with English Valleys’ Gage Heyne.
Heyne overcame a triple bogey with a birdie on the last hole to tie for first.
BGM, for the third straight time this season, won a meet on its home course, this time scoring 159.
Bridgewater said that his knee felt fine during the round and will be out of a brace in due time.
“Once he gets into full swing of things, he’s going to be one of the best golfers in the conference,” said Burns.
After a runner-up finish at conference last season, BGM has its sights set on that coveted conference team title.
“We want to be conference champions and go to state,” Bridgewater said.
The Bears feel confident that their depth will help them reach that goal.
“I feel like were deep and have six on any given [day] that can score for us,” Burns said. “They really work hard and want to be good.”
BGM as a team carded two birdies.
English Valleys finished second on the boys’ side with a team score of 206.
Arguably the shot and hole of the day came From English Valleys’ Tyler Lortz.
On the par-four sixth hole, listed at 284 yards, Lortz hit the flag stick and the ball rolled just off the green.
Then Lortz drilled the long putt for the eagle and finished tied for second with a 40.
On the girls’ side, BGM won the team race for the third straight time at home.
BGM was led by medalist Ana Coleman, who shot a score of 45, and Aurelia Roudabush, who came in second with a 48. Coleman carded the lone birdie in the girls’ field on hole six.
As a team, BGM scored 193.
“The girls have really come a long way,” said Burns. “Everything is falling into place for these girls to make a little run.”
That run could include the Bears defending their conference title this season.
The girls’ short game has been good so far this season, but Coach Burns hopes to see improvement in their shots off the tee the rest of the season.
“We’re way ahead of where we were a year ago with this same team,” Burns said.
The English Valleys girls finished third behind Lynnville-Sully with a team score of 233.
The Bears were led by Kaylee Frazier, who shot a 55.
GIRLS RESULTS
Team Scores
1. BGM 193, 2. Lynnville-Sully 226, 3. English Valleys 233
Individual
Medalist — Ana Coleman (BGM), 45
BGM (193): 1. Ana Coleman 45, 2. Aurelia Roudabush 48, T3. Averee Krebill & Mecey Heishman 50, 13. Shaye Strong 66, 17. Sophia Petsch 78
English Valleys (233): 6. Kaylee Frazier 55, T9. Nicole Murphy & Sarah Frederick 59, T. 11 Taylor Mikesell 60, 16. McKenna Rugg 76
BOYS RESULTS
Team scores
1. BGM 159, 2. English Valleys 206, 3. Lynnville-Sully 210
Individual
Medalist— (3-way tie) Gage Heyne (English Valleys), Ethan Bridgewater (BGM) & Robby Tometich (BGM), 39
BGM (159): T1. Robby Tometich & Ethan Bridgewater 39, T2. Beckett Rhoads 40, T. 6 Beau Burns 41, 8. Jax Foster 44, 9. Cameron Cooling 45
English Valleys (206): T1. Gage Heyne 39, T2. Tyler Lortz 40, T14. Owen Mather 63, 16. Jackson Overy 64, 17. Cyrus Morrison 68, 18. Garin Schaffner 78
