Spring Valley/EPC and River Falls boys golf are having standout seasons, and for both of them, it has started with the golfer at the top setting the tone.

For Spring Valley, that golfer is sophomore Ruger Peavey. During a pair of Dunn-St. Croix Conference events in Spring Valley on April 30, Peavey tied for a win with a 38 and tied for fourth with a 41.

“He’s had some pretty good success,” SV/EPC Coach Tyler Anderson said. “What kind of sets him apart is he’s got a really strong work ethic. He’s constantly working on his swing. He’s a quiet kid, but he kind of sets an example of how to do things. Some of our younger guys hopefully look up to him.”

The rest of the lineup is usually rounded out with juniors Sam Schmitt, Parker Peabody, Chase Glaus and Riley Bechel. Together, the lineup has seen some solid results, landing in the middle of the seven-team conference.

“We’ve grown quite a bit. We’re pretty young for the most part. We don’t have any seniors,” Anderson said. “We’re progressively getting better and better each year. This has been, since I’ve been coaching, our best scores.”

Moving forward, the key is going to be consistency for the team that lacks the senior experience that others have.

“We’re really inconsistent. We’ve got some guys that will shoot 44s one night, and then the next night shoot a 54,” Anderson said.

For River Falls, senior Ryan Swanson has collected an impressive four individual titles this season.

“We’re pretty strong at the top; Ryan Swanson’s one of the top players in the state,” River Falls Coach Tim LaVold said. “We’re working on finding our best game, which is fine. It’s been good. We’ve had a couple kids play a little better than I expected this year and a couple that are going to be fine here once they find it.”

LaVold said Swanson is an intelligent golfer on the course and is intelligent in the classroom. He knows how to play the wind and can read courses with the best of them.

“He’s a really smart golfer. He thinks at a higher level than everybody else on the course,” LaVold said. “He just really loves the competition. He loves playing against the best players and going out to see if he can beat them.”

River Falls won the first conference meet of the year and took second place behind Rice Lake in the second. The experienced lineup features Swanson, senior Jaxon Flanagan, senior Archimedes Xiong, junior Nolen Dado and sophomore Broden Flanagan.

Flanagan has stepped into the No. 5 role, taking on some challenging courses as he gets a feel for a new level of golf. LaVold said as he gains confidence, he could be a name that begins to shoot up the leaderboards.

Coach LaVold is looking to see the team avoid complacency and treat every hole like it is crucial.

“Some of them play so much golf, sometimes you just go through the motions a little bit. You’ve got to know when we really need some good stuff,” LaVold said.

With the postseason Regional set to take place in River Falls, LaVold believes this team can make a run.

“I like our chances this year,” LaVold said.