THE TOURNAMENT: The 90th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Golf Championships will be held Monday and Tuesday, June 8-9, at the University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wis. Competition will begin at 7 a.m. on both days. Practice rounds Sunday begin at 7 a.m. Tee time assignments for Sunday practice and for Monday's play are posted on the boys golf page of the WIAA website.
THE FORMAT: The competition features 16 teams and 24 individual qualifiers in Division 1, and eight teams and 12 individuals in Divisions 2 and 3. Weather permitting, all competitors will play 36 holes, including 18 holes on each day. The lowest scores from the first day will have the later tee times Tuesday.
THE QUALIFYING FIELD: In Division 1, the field consists of the top two teams from each of the eight sectionals. In Divisions 2 and 3, the top two teams from each of the four sectionals qualify. The top three individuals, who are not members of a qualifying team in each sectional, also qualify for the meet.
ON THE AIR: The ninth and 18th holes will be streamed live on foxsportswisconsin.com. In addition, a 60-minute highlight program of the 2015 Boys State Golf Championship Tournament is scheduled to air on FS Wisconsin on July 10 at 7 p.m. Check your local listings for the FS Wisconsin channel on your cable system.
LAST YEAR: Homestead was crowned as the State champion in Division 1 by the slimmest of margins, shooting a four-player, 36-hole score of 618, which was one stroke better than runner-up Notre Dame. Kaylor Steger of Oak Creek earned medalist honors with a 36-hole score of 142. Catholic Memorial won the Division 2 title with a four-player, 36-hole score of 607. Edgewood placed second with 614 strokes. Chris Colla of Winnebago Lutheran earned medalist honors by shooting a 4-under par 140. Lancaster won the Division 3 title with a score of 627, 23 shots better than runner-up Osseo-Fairchild. Thomas Longbella of McDonell Central fired a 142 to win medalist honors.
CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES: Madison West holds the record for the most team golf titles with 15. Osseo-Fairchild is next in line with nine, followed by Racine Park with seven. Madison West has also produced the most individual champions with nine. Arrowhead is the only school to have won four straight team titles (2007-10), and there are four other schools that have won three straight championships. Osseo-Fairchild did it in 1994-96; Racine did it in 1923-25; Madison West accomplished the feat in 1934-36 and 1960-62; and Middleton did it from 1997-99.
TEAMS COMPETING: The schools qualifying for the State meet in Division 1 are Arrowhead, Badger, Bay Port, De Pere, Eau Claire North, Fort Atkinson, Homestead, Kaukauna, Madison Memorial, Middleton, Muskego, New Berlin Eisenhower, Nicolet, Notre Dame, Racine Case and Stevens Point. Teams qualifying in Division 2 are Bloomer, Catholic Memorial, Edgewood, Freedom, Hayward, Lodi, Marinette and Sheboygan Falls. Qualifying teams in Division 3 are Crandon, Gibraltar, Lancaster, Martin Luther, McDonell Central, Mineral Point, St. Mary’s Springs and Spring Valley.
DIVISION 1 INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS: The top returning finisher from last year’s championships is senior Ricky Kuiper from Racine Case. He was part of a two-way tie for second with a score of 143. The individual qualifiers in Division 1 are senior Sam Kuklinski of Appleton East, junior Josh Trasser of Brookfield Central, junior Chase Rauckman of Eau Claire Memorial, junior Isaac Prefontaine of Green Bay Preble, junior Nate Thomson of Greendale, senior Nate Hermsen of Hamilton, senior Tyler Church of Holmen, senior Ben Campbell of Kenosha Indian Trail, senior JT Naumann of Kettle Moraine, senior Peter Conowall of Madison East, junior Sam Galloway of Neenah, senior Kole Hallmark of New Richmond, senior Carson Torhorst of Oregon, senior Jake Kennedy from Pulaski, junior Cole Crawford of River Falls, senior Nate Oehrlein of Sun Prairie, junior Sam Maier of Union Grove, senior Max Murphy of Waunakee, freshman Adam Garski of Wauwatosa East/West, senior Mitchell Saari of West Bend East, senior Alex Haas of West Bend West, senior Jonah Arbet of Westosha Central and junior Patrick Sicula and senior Hank Grunau of Whitefish Bay.
DIVISION 2 INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS: Junior Chris Colla of Winnebago Lutheran is the defending champion back to defend his title. He shot a 4-under par 140 last year. The individual qualifiers in Division 2 are junior Sam Marks of Berlin, senior Jack Adams of Campbellsport, senior Chapin Orr of Dodgeville, junior Nick Anderson of Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau, junior Matthew Davidson of McFarland, senior Jacob Stoinski of Oconto Falls, sophomore Jack O’Brien of Racine St. Catherine’s, senior Brian Morris of Shorewood, sophomore Wil Gauper of Somerset, freshman Brett VonRuden of Sparta, junior Austin Roth of Viroqua and junior Chris Colla of Winnebago Lutheran.
DIVISION 3 INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS: Junior Thomas Longbella of McDonell Central is the returning champion. He captured medalist honors last year by shooting a 142. The Division 3 individual qualifiers are sophomore Matthew Severson of Argyle/Pecatonica, senior Jeff Stemper of Catholic Central, senior Drew Zimmerman of Cuba City, senior Eric Reetz of Fall Creek, senior Jake Hierlmeier of Glenwood City, senior Jacob Tenlen of Hurley, junior Zach Mortonson of Iola-Scandinavia, freshman Austin Schnell of Mishicot, senior Nathan Satina of Pardeeville, freshman Grant Boyson of St. Mary Central, senior Max Beecher of Shiocton and sophomore Grant Germano of Williams Bay.
NEED THE QUALIFIERS/TEE TIMES?: All rosters, qualifiers and tee times are available on the boys golf page on the WIAA website at: http://www.wiaawi.org/Sports/BoysGolf.aspx
NEED RESULTS?: The quickest way to get the boys golf results of the regional, sectional and State Tournament would be to access the boys golf results page on the WIAA website at: http://www.wiaawi.org/Sports/BoysGolf.aspx
FOLLOW THE TOURNEY ON TWITTER: Receive the updates of the Boys State Tournament on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaagolf.