Golf blows away competition

Drew Groshong, golf team perform well in inclement weather

By John Trupin /// Staff writer

Pioneers are undeterred by challenges in their path, be they fierce competition or forces of nature. This weekend, both the Men’s and Women’s Golf teams proved that they carry that spirit as they put in strong performances in the Northwest Conference’s Fall Classic Tournament.

As they hit the links in Newberg this past weekend, Lewis & Clark’s golf teams faced strong opposition from their conference opponents, the Chehalem Glenn Golf Course and the skies themselves. Despite harsh weather, including gusts of over 60 miles per hour that brought play to a halt several times, the Pios performed admirably in the first leg of the final tournament that will decide the conference championship.

While both the Men’s and Women’s teams finished seventh overall, several individual players played well in particular. Drew Groshong (’17) shot a combined 147 over the two-day tournament to earn the first individual victory for a Pio in the conference tournament since joining the Northwest Conference. The second-year was able to post a strong 72 shot performance on the first day despite the delays due to wind and rain that caused the shots of some participants to soar dramatically off course. Groshong was able to maintain his one stroke lead over Ryan Kukula of Willamette University and Scott Martin of Whitman College through a wet and sloppy second day with a score of 75 to secure the victory.

The Women’s team racked up a strong group performance with three of their members finishing in the top twenty individually. Claire Burke (’17), Arielle Valdez (‘17), and Sofia Vigil (‘17) finished 11th, 12th, and 19th respectively. With a strong performance from their team, the women’s team is excited looking forward, as their entire team consists of second-years this season. A strong performance as underclassmen puts the Pioneers in an exciting position to have a very competitive team in the upcoming seasons for both Men’s and Women’s Golf.