Waukon boys golf team returns pair of varsity letterwinners to overall young 2022 squad with no seniors coming back


2022 Waukon boys golf team ... Left to right - Front row: Dylan Hogan, Cayden Kruger, Riley Miller, Rowen Althof, Ryan Kolsrud; Back row: Cody Huinker, Drew Weymiller, Mason McGeough, Dalton Ellickson, Cashton Lloyd. Not pictured: Ishq Pafel.

2022 Waukon boys golf team returning letterwinners ... Left to right: Dylan Hogan and Cody Huinker.

The Waukon boys golf team of 2022 will return a pair of varsity letterwinners from last season, that experienced pair leading a collection of 11 players making up this spring’s squad. Having to replace a large group of seven graduated seniors that made up half of last season’s squad, this year’s Indians will try and do that with an influx of nearly that many first-year high school golfers.

That pair of letterwinning returnees includes one golfer who was in that same situation last season as a freshman, as sophomore Dylan Hogan and junior Cody Huinker bring back their varsity experience from last spring. With nine of this season’s 11 players being sophomores or younger, there will be plenty of opportunity to continue to build the program for the future.

“We will be looking for some younger underclassmen to step up and fill the other varsity spots,” Waukon boys golf coach Tharin Benson said.

It is the overall youth and inexperience of this season’s squad that will provide one of its biggest challenges to overcome this spring. Having this season’s two veteran returnees still holding multiple years of eligibility is something that will certainly help in climbing that obstacle.

The Indians were slated to get their 2022 campaign underway with back-to-back nights of competition to start this week, hosting Decorah and Oelwein Monday, April 4 and then South Winneshiek Tuesday, April 5, but that April 4 meet was canceled. That Monday-Tuesday trend for this season’s competition schedule will play out for the remainder of the month of April, as the golf Tribe is next slated to travel to Crestwood Monday, April 11 before hosting both MFL/MarMac and Postville April 12.

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