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BEEMER - The Hartington-Newcastle golf team teed off its 2026 campaign in the West Point-Beemer Invitational March 30 at Indian Trails Country Club and ended up sixth in the 17-team tournament after carding a team total of 401.
Columbus Lakeview won the big trophy after shooting a 334, Battle Creek was second with 351 and West Point-Beemer placed third with a 356.
“We didn’t play our best golf, but we learned a lot of things about our team,” said Wildcat coach, Mike Johnson. “Each player walked off the course learning some valuable lessons.”
Peyton Penrose of West Point-Beemer was the medalist carding an 80, Grayson Vogt of Columbus Lakeview won a playoff over teammate Evan Ceder after the two were tied for second with an 81.
Kayne Gratzfeld shot the low round for the Wildcats with an 89 which left him one stroke out of the medals.
Carter Kelly was 28th with a 99, Grady Lammers used a 102 to finish 35th, Austin Sudbeck and Lincoln Grutsch each posted a 111.
“Our putting and chipping was not real good, some of that can be attributed to the greens at Indian Trails and some of it was on us not executing shots,” said Johnson. “This meet is always really difficult for a couple of reasons. The course is one of, if not the most difficult golf courses we’ll play on all year. The second reason is that practices in March are a little inconsistent due to the weather.
Johnson said better weather will help his squad.
“Now that the calendar is turning to April, we’re hoping that practices will be more consistent and we can start making strides in our game,” he said.
The ‘Cats will continue their season with a quadrangular in Plainview on April 6 and a triangular in Ponca on April 7. WEST POINT-BEEMER GOLF INVITATIONAL Team Results: 1. Columbus Lakeview 334; 2. Battle Creek 351; 3. West Point-Beemer 356; 4. Wayne 361; 5. Schuyler 376; 6. Hartington-Newcastle 401; 7. Clarkson/Leigh 405; 8. Oakland-Craig 418; 9. Pender 423; 10. Tri County Northeast 428; 11. Wisner-Pilger 437; 12. Guardian Angels Central Catholic 469; 13. Winnebago NTS; 14. Lyons-Decatur Northeast NTS; 15. Bancroft-Rosalie NTS; 16. Howells-Dodge NTS; 17. Humphrey/Lindsay NTS.
Individual Top 10 and Hartington- Newcastle Results: 1. Peyton Penrose (WP-B) 80; 2. Grayson Vogt (CL) 81; 3. Evan Ceder (CL) 81; 4. Dylan Jensen (WAY) 82; 5. Jackson Ceder (CL) 83; 6. Zach Johnson (WP-B) 84; 7. Tyan Thompson (BC) 84; 8. Gavin Lindgren (BC) 84; 9. Gerry Earth (BAGO) 85; 10. Matthew Gibbons (SCHU) 88; 13. Kayne Gratzfeld (H-N) 89; 28. Carter Kelly (H-N) 99; 35. Grady Lammers (H-N) 102; 49. Austin Sudbeck (H-N) 111; 50. Lincoln Grutsch 111.
