In a sport where scores can vary wildly, the Prescott and Ellsworth High School golf teams have made consistency a focus through the first two weeks of Middle Border Conference play.

The Panthers and Cardinals saw their first league action of the season during Altoona’s home meet at the Princeton Valley Golf Course in Eau Claire on Thursday, April 13. Ellsworth finished third (174) and Prescott took fifth (182) while Amery claimed the debut victory with a 159.

Prescott sophomore Tyler Reiter shot a one-over par round of 37 that secured a runner-up finish individually. Reiter was bested only by Amery senior Blu Anderson, a UW-Superior commit who posted a one-under par round of 35 on Tuesday afternoon.

Ellsworth featured a pair of athletes near the top five individually. Senior Trey Wittenberg shot a 39, which secured a tie for fourth while junior Ethan Oricchio finished tied for sixth with his four-over par 40.

Ellsworth senior Vinny Young shot a 45, junior Thomas Tober posted a 50 and senior Oden Anderson rounded out the Panthers’ scoring with a 52. Ellsworth head coach Carson Huppert spoke about his team’s debut performance at the Princeton Valley Golf Course.

“We took third as a team at the first meet,” Huppert said. “I think Trey and Ethan both finished close to the top five, so we played OK. I think we have room to grow though too.”

In addition to Reiter’s runner-up 37, Prescott’s scores included sophomore Sam Vesperman’s round of 44, sophomore Luke Kinneman shot 50, senior Evan Radke posted a 51 and sophomore Finn Stanton rounded out the scoring with a 58.

The two local programs were back in action five days later in the second Middle Border Conference meet of the season at the Ellsworth Country Club on Tuesday, April 18.

The scores at Ellsworth were similar to those in Altoona, and the top five teams finished in exactly the same position as the first meet of the year. Amery won the tournament with a 160 while Saint Croix Central finished runner-up with a 162. Ellsworth’s 171 secured third and Prescott earned another fifth-place finish with its 178.

Prescott’s top finisher was the aforementioned Reiter, who took third with a two-over par round of 38. Vesperman shot a 43, Radke posted a 46, Kinneman finished with 51 and Staton rounded out the scoring with a 56.

Prescott head coach Jay Bartsch spoke about his team’s performance at Ellsworth and what he expects from Reiter, who is the Cardinals’ best golfer this season. 

“I kind of expect those scores out of Tyler because he’s our number one golfer,” Bartsch said. “Evan played well for us today. Sam Vesperman played another solid round and my four and five guys are getting better every day.”

Bartsch expects those scores from Reiter because he began his sophomore campaign as one of the best golfers in the Middle Border Conference. Last season, Reiter regularly finished among the top 10 individually and he’s got the talent to make birdies in bunches.

“When he’s playing well, he’s right around par or a couple of strokes over,” Bartsch said of Reiter. “Today he was two-over and then had a tough hole on the par three. But he has the ability to make birdies because he hits the ball pretty long and he’s good on the greens. He’s capable of being very good.”

While Reiter led the scoring for Prescott, Oricchio paved the way for Ellsworth with his fourth-place round of 39. After the round, Oricchio spoke about his performance and some of the course conditions which made scoring come at a premium on Tuesday afternoon.

“With the way the greens are rolling with putts bouncing around, I figured nobody would be going that low today,” Oricchio said. “I think I played decent for how the greens are, how the course is playing and it being the first round here this year.”

Ellsworth’s other scores included Anderson’s round of 41, Wittenberg shot a 44, Young posted a 47 and Tober rounded out the Panthers’ scoring with a 51. Coach Huppert spoke about his team’s scores at Ellsworth on Tuesday afternoon.

“I think Ethan shot alright, but there are a lot of improvements we’ll make because it’s still early,” Huppert said. “We have a bunch of range rats on the team, so I think we’re going to improve and score better as we start playing more.”

Ellsworth and Prescott are slated to be back in action at the Colfax Varsity Invitational on Wednesday, April 26. Tee times are slated to begin at 9 a.m. at the Whitetail Golf Course.