AREA HIGH SCHYOOL GOLFERS PACK UP CLUBS FOR STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Notre Dame and St. Vincent will compete as team at the state high school golf championships, to be held in Columbia and Sedalia on Monday and Tuesday.

Jackson's Chris Pike also advanced to the 4A state tournament for the individual competition as a result of his top 10 finish in the district tournament.

The top two teams and 10 individual golfers with the lowest scores in the district qualifying tournaments gained berths to the 36-hole, two-day event.

Notre Dame

The Bulldogs, runners-up to Caruthersville in the Class 2A (District 1) tournament, return to state after a one-year absence.

Notre Dame's team qualified in '97 and '98 and last season two golfers, Nick Martin and Tim Buerck, qualified for the individual competition.

Martin with a 39.5 scoring average and Buerck with a 40.2 average are the top guns for the Bulldogs. As a team, their low nine-hole score was a 156 at Cape Country Club.

This time around, Martin (Jr.) and Buerck (Soph.) will be joined by Lucas Klein (Jr.), Derek Welter (Sr.) and Ryan Hannan (Jr.).

A strong field includes defending champion Pembroke Hills (Kansas City), John Burroughs (St. Louis), Marysville and Rosary (St. Louis).

Notre Dame will play a practice round Sunday and begin official play Monday at Sedalia Country Club.

"We have finished in the middle of the pack in our other visits to state, so our challenge this time is to try to improve on that," said Notre Dame coach Chris Janet. "Derek Welter is our only senior and he's been disappointed with his play throughout the season and he really wants to compete well at the state tournament."

St. Vincent

With experience and talent galore, St. Vincent appears to be a strong contender for the 16-team Class 1A state golf crown.

The tournament will be contested at the par-72 Columbia Country Club.

The Indians are no stranger to high finishes at the state level. Since 1990, they have had a first, a second, two thirds, and a fourth place in the final team standings.

Gallatin, the defending champion, returns a solid team and is expected to be strong again, as is traditionally strong Priory (St. Louis).

All-staters Jon Paulus (Jr.) and Craig Schumer (Jr.) along with Ryan Prost (Sr.), Mark Gotto (Jr.), and Wes Richardet (Soph.) have put up outstanding numbers all season, winning the District1 and JEFFCO Conference champioships, each by convincing margins.

Paulus and Schumer, with three years experience in state competition, are averaging 39 for nine holes to lead the Indians. All team members scored in the 30's when they posted their low team score of 146 at Perryville Country Club earlier in the season.

Coach Tom Prost believes this is the deepest, most consistent and talented team in his 21 years at the helm of St. Vincent golf.

"I expect Jon (Paulus) and Craig (Schumer) to shoot in the 70's," said Prost. "We'll need one of the other three to step up and shoot a nice round. Those three scores combined with our fourth score should put us in good shape."