Boys Golf: Youth is served

Jake Jensen (with coach Jon Holmes) ranked 5th in the Missota Conference

Despite a varsity lineup that included but one senior and one junior the Tigers put together a quality season, holding on to the fifth spot in the Missota Conference standings and setting a positive tone for the future.

"I'm very proud," Tiger coach Jon Holmes said. "I had a ton of fun with this group of boys.

"They are all multi-sport athletes and I think that had  a lot to do with their success. They are very well-rounded individuals and embody some of the personal characteristics I appreciate most. That made for a very productive, competitive and enjoyable season."

The six members of the varsity squad earned varsity letters for their contributions to the 2014 season, including senior Tyler VanWinkle; junior Sam Newcomb; sophomores Jake Jensen and Lucas Berg and freshmen Darby Grengs and Isaac Ferm.

Jensen had an outstanding spring, ranking fifth among individuals in the Missota Conference, the highest for a Tiger since state meet performer Greg Werner graduated.

Holmes also singled out two members of the junior varsity team, Brock Lange and Andy Meyer, who each improved his game during the season and will be counted on to contribute next spring.

"We lost six of our top eight players from last season, so the outlook coming into this season was murky," Holmes said. "But looking back we accomplished a lot.

"We finished second at the conference meet at Fountain Valley, our highest place ever, and we had a couple of meets in a row where our team score was under 310. That's also a first in a very long time."

Holmes said the major obstacles to even more success were consistency and, of course, youth.

"We still need more tournament experience and several of our players will be getting that this summer," he said. "That will also help the mental approach to the game that only comes with experience."

With that said, Holmes is excited about the next few years of Tiger golf.

"Our future is very bright," he said. "I can't wait to work with this group over the summer."

Unlike some of the other Tiger sports programs, Holmes doesn't expect to see a drastic change in competition level when Farmington moves to the South Suburban Conference next fall.

"The Missota was a very competitive golf conference," he said. "I think we will fit right in with the South Suburban. We just need to keep playing and improving."