For the third time in as many years, the River Falls High School boys’ golf team finished third in the Big Rivers Conference standings.

The Wildcats posted a third-place round of 319 at the Big Rivers Conference championship, which was held at the Troy Burne Golf Club in Hudson on May 18. River Falls was bested by Hudson’s runner-up of 303 and Eau Claire Memorial’s championship score of 299.

Eau Claire Memorial won its third consecutive Big Rivers Conference championship and its fifth in the last six seasons on Thursday afternoon. Hudson finished runner-up and River Falls earned bronze, both for the third straight season.

The Wildcats arrived at Troy Burne with a chance to snap the third-place streak and surpass Hudson for runner-up honors, if they could shoot a better round than the Raiders. For River Falls head coach Tim LaVold, the conference championship was a microcosm of the 2023 season.

“The day went the way the whole year did,” LaVold said. “Memorial and Hudson played really well out there. It was a tough wind with some tough pin placements, so they deserved it. We were hoping to compete with Hudson, but they definitely had a better day.”

River Falls senior Matthew Marsollek was the Wildcats’ top individual, as his four-over par round of 75 finished tied for fourth place with Eau Claire Memorial senior Ben Christenson.

Freshman phenom Ryan Swanson shot a five-over par 76, which secured sixth place individually. Marsollek and Swanson have consistently been River Falls’ top performers and regularly posted some of the best individual scores in the Big Rivers Conference this year.

Marsollek was one of five players that earned First-Team All-Conference honors this season. Swanson, who earned Second-Team All-Conference honors, was the only freshman to earn either distinction this year and is one of just three freshmen in the last four seasons to make either list.

“One of Matthew’s goals this season was to make First-Team All-Conference and he did that,” LaVold said of Marsollek. “He’s playing really well this season. The only two guys that beat him are two of the top players in the state, and he was right there with them.”

“Ryan (Swanson) finished in sixth place overall, which is a great year for a freshman,” LaVold continued. “He shot a 32 at one meet and has played sensational all year. He deserved that All-Conference honor.”

River Falls’ other individual scores at the Big Rivers Conference championship include junior Will Benedict’s 82, senior Aidan Carufel shot an 86 and sophomore Connor O’Malley rounded out the scoring with a 95.

While the annual conference championship largely determines the eventual champion, it’s not the only factor. Teams got points throughout the season based on their performances at conference meets before the league championship at the end of the year, which is worth double points.

Eau Claire Memorial went into the conference championship with 56 points as a team and 13 clear of Hudson’s 43 points in second place. River Falls trailed Hudson by just one when the two rivals got to Troy Burne on Thursday morning.

The Wildcats’ deficit could have been a multiple-point advantage, if it hadn’t been for an uncharacteristically pedestrian performance at the nine-hole conference match at the Lake Hallie Golf Club in Chippewa Falls on April 27.

That’s where River Falls shot 164 and finished sixth out of eight teams – its worst conference performance of the season – and the only time LaVold’s Wildcats finished worse than third in a league match.

Hudson earned a runner-up finish at the same meet, which was a four-point swing that ultimately decided the final conference standings – although neither program knew it at the time. LaVold spoke about Lake Hallie and how it significantly altered the season.

“We kind of did ourselves in at the Lake Hallie meet back in April,” LaVold said. “We had a pretty rough day and finished in sixth place. That made it tough for us to finish second. We were neck and neck with Hudson, and we just had one really bad day and they were pretty consistent all year.”

With the Big Rivers Conference championship in the rearview, River Falls has shifted its focus to the WIAA Division 1 Regional Tournament, which will be played at the Wild Ridge Golf Course in Eau Claire on Tuesday, May 23.

“They know we’ve got to buckle down and be ready to go,” LaVold said of the upcoming playoffs. “As long as the guys come in with the right frame of mind, I think we’ll have a lot of success in the postseason.”