Washburn Rural boys enter postseason run leaning on golf experience

The Washburn Rural boys golf team hopes to turn experience into gold over the remaining couple of weeks of the season.

Blessed with seven seniors who have all demonstrated their worth on the varsity level, the Junior Blues head into regionals hoping to make a run at a state championship.

Several of those seniors were on the team that placed fifth at state a year ago.

Seven solid seniors

The chase begins Monday at 6A regionals at Rolling Meadows Golf Course in Milford.

The top three teams plus five individuals not on qualifying teams from the regional event will be invited to the state tournament at Mariah Hills Golf Course May 23 and 24 in Dodge City.

“It’s kind of unheard of to have a group of seven seniors who are so solid,” said Washburn Rural coach Jared Goehring. “Even with the pandemic (wiping out) their sophomore year, we have 21 years of high school golf experience between them.

"They have a lot of rounds of golf under their belts.”

Leading the charge for the Junior Blues are seniors Giles Frederickson and Luke Leonetti, who will try to make their third trip to the state tournament. The duo made the trip as freshmen and again as juniors, having lost their sophomore year to COVID-19.

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Frederickson, who this season leads the team with a 77.3 average per round, etched his name in the school record book when he shot a 4-under-par 68 at the Seaman Invitational at Village Greens in Meriden earlier this season.

“Giles is a leader for us,” Goehring said. “He shares the school record with the 68. But the 4-under is the school record.

“He is the placekicker on the football team, so he’s been in stressful situations before. He’s had his up and downs with high school golf, as do all golfers.

"I’m sure he would like to have been a little more consistent. But he’s in a good space right now going into the postseason with a lot of confidence.”

On May 3, Frederickson and Leonetti tied for fifth at the Centennial League Championship at Stagg Hill in Manhattan. Leonetti, who has committed to play golf at Texas A&M-Commerce, won that event as a junior.

“Luke was the defending league champ, so he was a little disappointed with that showing, but that’s golf,” Goehring said. “He didn’t get off to the best of starts, which is uncharacteristic of him coming out of the gates. He shot 5-over-par on the front, but then shot even-par on the back.

"He fought and battled and hung in there even though he didn’t have his best stuff that day.”

The Junior Blues’ number-three player on the varsity, Turner Depperschmidt, joined Frederickson and Leonetti on the 2021 All-Shawnee County boys golf team as a junior.

Depperschmidt is capable of leading the team, having carded the Junior Blues’ best finish at the 6A tournament a year ago, a 36-hole score of 162, good for 23rd place.

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Those three are backed by the senior quartet of Andrew Burdett, Maddox Hight, Joe Morse and Bryan Tyrell, each of whom has had shining moments this season.

“People will say that golf is an individual sport. But for as long as I coach, it’s going to be a team sport,” said Goehring. “We’ll always put team accolades over individual accolades. Those guys bought into that.

"It’s understanding your role. It’s learning from those past experiences.”

Learning from last year

As a group, they made the cut down to six teams at state last year and ultimately finished fifth at Quail Ridge Golf Course in Winfield. Their coach believes that experience will be helpful come playoff time.

“Being on the edge of their seat to see if they made cut and then making the cut last year really paid dividends with these guys,” Goering said. “They are experienced and know how to play with pressure.

"They’re another year older, so they should be well-rehearsed. We’re relying a lot on our seniors.”

One non-senior in the mix is freshman Tadd Armstrong, who has a season average of 83. He tied for 15th in the Centennial League tournament with an 82.

“He’s kind of flying under the radar,” Goehring said. “I’ve watched him have some ‘Ah ha’ moments this season as he improves and learns to compete.

"He would probably tell you that he came into his freshman year without a lot of expectations, but just to go out there and do his best.

"But to be quite honest, he’s been one of our most consistent tournament players for us this year. He has a low round of 76. The sky is the limit for him.”

Goehring has the enviable task of selecting six golfers for the regional tournament. He said that, as in years past, the expectation is to compete for a state title like the one they won in 2015.

“Our goal is always just to make the cut to be in the top six in the two-day, 36-hole format, and then just see what we can do in that setting,” Goehring said. “We’ve got all the pieces.

"It’s just a matter of putting four good scores together on the same day.

“These guys are still looking to put together a complete 18 holes. It’s been a grind. The weather has not been the most enjoyable.

"We play a very difficult, competitive tournament schedule to make these guys uncomfortable in hopes that they can be playing their best golf by the end of May.”

'We’re a tradition-rich program'

After 10 years as head coach at Washburn Rural, Goehring can motivate his team by pointing to some elite golfers from the past.

Graduates include Andrew Beckler, a member of the 2015 state championship team who went on to be a Divison II All-American at Washburn, and Parker Beal, a 2019 graduate who was Washburn Rural’s only two-time state champion.

“It means a lot to these kids to play for Washburn Rural. We’re a tradition-rich program,” Goehring said. “It’s not all about the current guys. It’s about the guys who came before them.

"We talk about that all the time. They may not totally understand that while they’re in the program, but they will appreciate it when they get older in life and reflect on their experience in the program.”

With seven high-quality veterans, Goehring believes his team can compete for a championship. But he admitted that it will be far from easy.

“The 6A field is loaded this year,” Goehring said. “There’s a ton of talent in the east, and there are some really good teams out west, and then Washburn Rural and Manhattan have some pretty good talent in the middle of the state.

"It’s going to be very fun down in Dodge City to watch all these guys compete.

“Our expectations never change. We always want to be in the conversation with the best teams in the state.”

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Seven seniors lead Washburn Rural boys golf team into postseason