By Dan Karpiel
The Surveyor

The Berthoud High School golf team was able to get its hands on the prize it has been seeking this season – a team win. The Spartans shot 224, enough to top their perpetual bane Sterling (227) for first place in the Tri-Valley Conference’s (TVC) Frederick League Match on Aug. 31 at the Saddleback Golf Club in Firestone.

“We have been very close before, so it takes a little pressure off the boys,” said Berthoud Head Coach Mike King. “Our team played very well overall, from top to bottom.”

Berthoud’s varsity squad all broke 90, with three golfers – Josh Schumacher (70), Shawn Solem (75) and Braden Hull (79) – all shooting in the 70s in their respective rounds. Evan Poll (82) and Jack Hummel (89) rounded out the Spartans’ varsity scores.

Schumacher’s 70, his and Berthoud’s lowest-scoring round of the season, didn’t come as a surprise to King, who said the junior has changed his swing and slowed it down, sacrificing some distance but making up for it with improved accuracy.

“Josh Schumacher really had a good round,” King said. “He made several long putts and limited his mistakes to just a few. Josh has this kind of talent and we hope he can continue to build on this type of round.”

King is also encouraged by Hull’s 79, and said that Hull is getting to a place where shooting in the 70s will be more common. Coupled with the ever-contending Solem, who, King said, “is kind of moving under the radar for the moment … and quietly building for our biggest tournaments at the end of September,” it appears Berthoud is well-positioned to make a run at the TVC title and reach their goal of qualifying as a team for state.

Despite the team win at Saddleback, King said, “Today was just one step. We go back to work tomorrow; we played well but there is a still a lot of room for improvement.”