LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL GOLFERS READY FOR STATE

Notre Dame and St. Vincent are returning teams to the state golf tournament, while a few individuals from Cape Central and Jackson will also be taking aim at a state golf title starting today.

Four different golf courses will be hosting the four high school classifications over the next two days. Thirty-six holes of golf will decide individual and team champions.

A look at the tournaments with local relevance:

Class 2A

Notre Dame will be making its third straight state appearance and the Bulldogs are hoping to better last year's ninth-place finish.

"We'd like to improve on that considerably," said Notre Dame coach Chris Janet. "The big thing for us, is to finish in the top four; I liken it to the final four in basketball."

Janet will bring a veteran group to A.L. Gustin Golf Course in Columbia after finishing second to Arcadia Valley at districts. All five of his starters are seniors, with four of them returning with state experience.

Jonathan LeGrand, Chris Koepper, Cliff Seratti and Matt Howard all return from last season. LeGrand had the Bulldogs' top state score last year, placing 29th.

"The state experience should be a plus," Janet said. "They've all been there and experienced the pressure."

Senior John Brey, the Bulldogs' top qualifier during the district meet, will be making his first state trip along with freshman alternate Nick Martin.

Class 1A

St. Vincent is back again, but return only one starter from last year's third-place state team.

That doesn't seem to matter much to long-time St. Vincent coach Tom Prost, who might be looking at his best chance yet to win a state title in his 20 years at the school.

The Indians qualified for state by winning their district with a school-record score of 303 at the Perryville Country Club.

"That was my best score in 20 years and I've had some good teams," said Prost, who coached a second-place state team in 1994 and third place squad in 1995. "We ended up with all five scores in the 70's and I can't think of any time I've ever seen that in any of our matches or districts."

Junior Joe Ponder is the only starter back from last year and he posted the top score of 72 at the district meet. Classmate Dusty Cattoor started last year, but will play as an alternate this time.

Amazingly, two freshman and two sophomores comprise the rest of the starting lineup. Matt Hoch and Ryan Prost are the sophomores while Jon Paulus and Craig Schumer are making an impact in their first varsity seasons.

The 1A meet is being held at Lake of the Woods Golf Course in Columbia.

Class 4A

Two Central golfers and another from Jackson will be competing for individual glory at Sedalia Country Club in Sedalia.

Central senior Dane McLaird is back for his final shot at the state tournament. Last year, he placed 20th in 4A.

Danny Groesbeck, a junior, won medalist honors at last week's district tournament. He'll be making his first appearance at the state meet.

Jackson junior Gabe Estes finished right behind Groesbeck at districts and will be making a return to state competition. Last year, Estes helped the Indians to an 11th-place team finish.