By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Bishop LeBlond boys’ golf team is once again gearing up for a run at a state championship. It's almost routine at this point.
This marks the seventh straight season that the Eagles have qualified for state as a team, and they now seek their fourth consecutive state title and the fifth in the last six years.
Second-year head coach and former Missouri Western golfer Mitch Girres says he’s in awe of just how good this team has gotten all season.
"They're talented beyond their years," Girres said. "It's fun to get to see them in their environment. They've all been playing together for so long. It's neat to see how they all root for each other."
The Eagles were MEC Conference champions and won the Class 3 District 4 title in Kansas City last week by 21 strokes over Maryville.
The Eagles won state last season in Farmington by a whopping 46 strokes. Sophomore Tim Johnston finished 6th at state last year and is a district champion this year. He says he feels confident going into the tournament this week.
"Yeah I'm really excited," he said. "Obviously, after winning districts I've kind of been on a hot streak and I feel like my game is in a good plac and I'm feeling confident."
The Eagles are competing this week at the Sedalia Country Club - a course they played at on April 11, where they finished second at the Smith-Cotton Invitational.
"We played well when we were down there the first time," Girres recalled. "I think we shot a 301. We only lost to Jefferson City-Helias, which is a top Class 5 team. I think if we play well, we'll have an opportunity to go into Tuesday with a chance to win."
The Eagles have been atop the leaderboard for much of this season, including at districts, where LeBlond had four golfers finish in the top 10.
Johnston, won districts with his score of 71 and competes alongside twin brother Pat, says this journey back to state has been a full team effort.
"I feel like everyone on the team has contributed," he said. "They're all helping out. It's not like anyone is playing real bad. They're all shooting decent scores."
Not only have most of the golfers on LeBlond's team been playing the game since they were little, and been playing together for years, but their combined playing experience in postseason tournaments is pretty sizeable, even with the 2020 season being wiped out.
Girres is confident that this team's past experience at state will carry them through again this year.
"They've had that experience of playing in a state tournament," he said. "They know what it feels like, but every round is different. Every big moment is different. I'm sure there'll be some nerves, but hopefully they're able to overcome that."
All five LeBlond golfers who were at state last year finished in the top 20, led by Jeffrey Johnston, who tied for fourth. With the oldest Johnston now at Missouri Western, this year's team had to carry on without their best player.
Girres says it's been a matter of learning how to be consistent, and it seems like this team has, once again, figured it out.
"I think that's something these young guys have kind of started to figure out here later on in the season is being more consistent. Just kind of playing level as best they can and picking each other up any time they get an opportunity."
The Eagles tee off at 8 a.m. on both Monday and Tuesday. Live scores can be followed here.
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