A week after its first match of the season, the Elizabethtown Area High School golf team has already managed to outdo itself. While the Bears failed to finish better than fifth in 2017, they beat that mark by finishing fourth in their first Section Two match of the season on Tuesday, Aug. 21. Two matches later, they’ve done even better.
Elizabethtown first traveled to Warwick’s home course, Overlook Golf Course in Lancaster, on Friday, Aug. 24. The home team far outpaced the rest of the field to finish in first place with a 316, bolstered by a 66 (4 under par) from senior Brock Fassnacht. Garden Spot was similarly carried by an 82 from junior Adam Hershey to place second with a 357. That left the Bears in third place with a 376, their highest finish in a match since the final match of 2015.
Sophomore Alex Williams got the highest finish for the team, walking away with an 89 on the day. He led the team on the front-nine with a 44, going 45 on the back and finishing with 4 pars as well.
Senior Connor Krisko came in second for Elizabethtown with a 90. He shot a 48
on the front but ended up with the best nine hole stretch on the team by hitting a 42 on the back. Krisko also had a teamhigh 5 pars.
Junior Eric Gilbert also broke 100 by shooting a 95. The remaining Elizabethtown golfers included senior Matt Pottgeiser (102), junior Alex O’Shea (104) and freshman Jolene Markley (118). Sophomore Westin Kolaric also shot a 91, albeit as a noncompeting player.
The good fortunes continued for the Bears on Tuesday, Aug. 28, at Honeybrook Golf Club in Honey Brook, Garden Spot’s home course. Warwick once again took first, finishing with a team score of 321. Ephrata shot up to second place with a 348, bolstered by a 78 from freshman Jeet Patel. Elizabethtown found itself in third for the second straight match; the Bears’ score of 358 was also their best since 2015.
For the third straight match, Williams was the top golfer on the team, shooting a career best 81. He started the match by hitting 4 pars on the first five holes, ultimately shooting a 40 on the front. He also had four straight pars on the back nine, where he shot 41. His 9 pars was a team high.
Krisko also had a career best, breaking 90 for the first time during his high school tenure with an 88. He matched Williams’ 41 on the back after a 47 on the front. Additionally, Krisko became the first Bear to hit a birdie this season, shooting a 3 on the final hole, a par 4.
Gilbert and O’Shea each had career bests with a 94 and a 95, respectively. It’s the first match since 2016 where Elizabethtown had four golfers break 100. Kolaric added a 103, while Markley hit a 106, just two strokes short of the District 3 qualifying mark for girls.
The Bears are currently fourth in Section Two of the Lancaster-Lebanon League with a record of 8-7, just behind Garden Spot at 10-5 and Ephrata at 9-6. They’re set to return to action on the latter’s home course, Foxchase Golf Club in Stevens on Wednesday, Aug. 5.
