Talawanda golf ended its remarkable season with a third place finish in sectionals, advancing to districts for the first time in 26 years. The team competed in the district tournament on Oct. 11 and ended in thirteenth, which eliminated it from the competition.

Coach Don Gloeckner said that this accomplishment has been the team’s goal this entire season.

“These guys just took the team, and just continued to build the program, and got us somewhere we haven’t been in 26 years,” Gloeckner said.

Going into the sectionals on Oct. 4, the boys felt more confident than ever after having beat Harrison for the first time in two years and boasting an undefeated record within their league.

The five boys teed off at 8:30 a.m. and began their 18-hole journey through the Miami Whitewater Forest Club. Fourteen teams were competing in sectionals, and only four would advance to districts. Each golfer began on a different hole, matched in a group of three with competitors from two other teams.

This year, Talawanda played with Fairfield and LaSalle.

Talawanda started on what they all said were the two hardest holes on the course: the 10th and 11th hole. The difficulty of the two holes did not surprise the team, who had played this course multiple times before. The boys were in their comfort zone.

Senior Aidan Bruder said he was mindful of the tough putting green when he teed up for the 10th hole. He had to strategically place his shot off the tee to set up for his next shot onto the left-sloping putting green.

For the 11th hole, which has the highest handicap, senior Connor Schulte said he knew he would not be able to hit straight off the tee. This particular hole has a hard bend to the right with a heavily wooded, long fairway leading to another sloped putting green.

Aidan played first on the course and scored a bogey on the 10th and 11th. Focused on keeping a positive mindset, Aidan thought back to his sophomore year when he scored double-bogeys on both holes and was on track to individually qualify for districts. He knew that with his start, he still had a chance to qualify this year.

Playing alongside Fairfield’s best golfer, Aidan said he felt even more determined to perform well. He knew that if he got a lower score than his competitor, he would advance individually to districts.

“I had to beat him if I wanted to go, just to solidify myself going, “ Aidan said. “So going onto the front, I forced myself to go after it and make some birdies.”

Gloeckner said he doesn’t tell the players their teammates’ scores as the match is under way because he doesn’t want them to feel too much pressure. But, when he heard that Bruder was shooting 75, which was only 4 over par, and saw Connor, senior Ty Huber and junior Brady Schutte following behind with strong performances, he realized that advancing to districts might be in their future.

As they played the ninth, their final hole, Gloeckner walked the hole with each player individually. He said he felt nerves as the dream of going to districts felt more tangible.

Aidan finished the course first, then came Ty and finally Connor.

Ty said even though he didn’t know his other teammates’ scores, coming off the back nine, he had a good feeling about the day.

Connor said he felt a little unsure after the front nine, but after he heard the team was beating LaSalle and Oak Hills, he felt motivated to win.

“That was fun,” Gloeckner said. “Especially at the end when we were kind of thinking we were pretty close. We were getting to know what the scores were.”

For the seniors, Aidan scored a 75, Connor a 78 and Ty a 79. Also playing for Talawanda, Brady scored an 87 and Micah Daniels an 88.

Gloekner said that the team’s success was aided by the community, who donated to Talawanda Golf so the boys could attend extra tournaments and have spare golf balls. The win feels bigger than just the team.

“It felt good that we have a lot of people behind us in our community,” Gloeckner said. “ We did it for us, number one, but for them too. That’s an awesome feeling.”

Even though they didn’t win the district tournament, the boys said they appreciated not only competing against a higher caliber of golfers, but also being able to do it together. They said it felt like they belonged on that course.

“It’s something I’ll probably never forget,” Connor said.