After a cold and rainy weekend, the Xavier boys’ golf team was finally able to relax earning a 4A eighth place finish at the state tournament. This came after the team won their first ever district meet, held at Elmcrest Country Club on Tuesday, October 3.

The Saints shot a 312 to hold off Bettendorf, Cedar Rapids Washington, Dubuque Wahlert, and Pleasant Valley at the district meet. Senior Matthew Neumeyer came off of an injury to shoot a team low of 70 athis first meet of the season.

“It felt good to come back from an injury and play well,” Neumeyer said. “We all really wanted to qualify for state, so it felt great to play well and help us do that.”

On the first day of the state meet, Friday, October 6, the team was in eighth place with a score of 308. Senior Brad Karpick and junior Nick Recker shot team lows of 75 and 76, respectively.

“I am very proud because we performed as well as we could have in those conditions,” Recker said.

On the second day of the state meet, Saturday, October 7, the Saints were tied for fifth place based on their day two scores. Karpick and Recker lead the team again with their respective scores of 71 and 76. After combining the scores from Friday and Saturday, the Saints finished in eighth place.

“The team finished the highest in school history, and I really enjoyed spending time with the team and the other guys,” Karpick said.

Karpick was also the highest placed individual from Xavier. He finished in tenth place, with Recker placing second highest, at eighteenth.

“I enjoyed playing against the best players in the state and seeing all the support from the many people who came out to watch,” Karpick said.

While the Saints were proud of their successful season, they were sad to see it come to a close.

Senior Ryan Keating reflects on his senior season.

“I will miss the bond this team had,” Keating said. “We really spent a lot of time together and had a ton of fun.”

The 2017 Xavier golf team made its mark on the program, and set a new standard for the years to come.

Maria Steffen

Assistant Sports Editor