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West Central Area Boys Golf Awards

By Craig Olson, 06/01/23, 11:30PM CDT

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The Knights boys’ golfers had one of the greatest seasons in WCA’s 30 year history. The Knights 3-peated as Quad County Conference Champions and finished Runner-up in the WCC to state ranked Minnewaska which came down to the last meet of the year.  The Quad County Conference consisted of 10 teams and the WCC had 8.  The Knights took 1st place in 8 of the 13 regular season tournaments they played in.  They took 2nd four times and 3rd once.

The Knights shattered all the previous team scoring records. Coming into the year, the records were 322 for 18 holes which the Knights broke numerous times. The final time was in the Quad County Conference Championship where they had five players shoot in the 70’s in the same meet. This is the only time in 30 years that has happened. They won the Conference Championship with another school record score of 304.

The seven letter winners were seniors Brett Amundson, Cole Anderson, Peyton Hanson; juniors Mitch Dewey and Cam Anderson, sophomore Sam Hanson, and freshman Marshall Dewey.

Team Award Winners as Voted on by the Team:
Most Valuable Golfer  - Mitch Dewey. Mitch was one of the dominant golfers in the area. He won three individual tournament titles and was runner-up in three more. He medaled in 11 of 13 meets, finished top 10 in all 13 meets and had the teams low scoring average of around 76.

Mitch qualified for the state tournament where he will play at Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan, MN on June 13th and 14th.

Shining Knight Award (Leadership, Dedication, Character, Sportsmanship) – Nathan Saulsbury. Nathan has been in golf all throughout his high school years. Nathan has demonstrated a lot of characteristics we strive for our student athletes to be. Nathan has been a good example to the younger players in the program and he has stayed with golf all these years and could be found hitting balls on the range long after practices.

Most Improved Golfer Brett Amundson.  This was an obvious award. Brett went out for golf for the first time as a junior. He had a lot to learn. Not only did he improve but he became one of the top golfers in the area during his senior season. Brett was named to the all-conference team in the Quad Conference and Honorable Mention in the WCC. Brett developed a complete all-around game from so much dedication to the sport and he started to play with confidence.  Brett was a top 6 medalist four times with a high of 3rd place medal at Balmoral and he had five top 10’s.

Most Dedicated Golfer – Marshall Dewey.  Coach Hunter: “Marshall is always on the course, the range, or the putting green practicing. He is always trying new things and has developed a complete game.  This year he took it to another level. He developed length and accuracy. He has a tremendous short game and plays with a calm demeanor.”  Marshall had 12 of 13 top tens. Medaled 11 of 13 times and was the tournament champion at Pebble Lake. He also had three tournament runner-ups.

Grit Award – Sam Hanson. Coach Hunter: “Sam never gives up. Sam has a go getter attitude and Sam is someone everyone wants on their team. He started the year shooting higher than he wanted and then started winning medals.  Sometimes he’ll start meets with some bad holes and by the end of the meet, he has worked his way back into a top 6 finish. He simply doesn’t give up. This was most exemplified in the conference championship tournament where he tied OTC standout Logan Kostlecky for the low tournament score. Sam battled Kostlecky for 6 extra playoff holes. Sam was in trouble in several of those holes but used his short game and his “grit” to find ways to keep pushing the playoff to another hole. While he didn’t win the playoff, he showed why we are so proud of his grit and never give in attitude.”  Sam had 7 top 10’s and medaled in 4 meets.  He had highs of a runner-up at the conference championship, another runner-up at Montevideo, and he had a 3rd at the home WCA meet at Tipsinah Mounds.

Rookie of the Year Cole Anderson and Cam Anderson. We welcomed two newcomers this year and they really gave us depth.  They both played some good golf and both kept improving throughout the year. We used both of their scores in a couple of our meets. Cole had one top 10 and Cam had two.  Cam placed 4th individually at the Thumper Pond meet.

Leadership Award– Peyton Hanson.  Peyton is a leader in many ways. Most of all by example. He is always encouraging teammates, he remains positive, and he is very respectful to all opponents he plays with in this gentleman’s game.  He embodies the type of character we strive for in our student-athletes”.  Peyton finished in the top 10 in 8 of 13 meets and his high was a 3rd place Melrose.

All-Conference Awards
Quad County All-Conference:
Mitch Dewey, Marshall Dewey, Brett Amundson, Peyton Hanson, Sam Hanson

West Central All-Conference: Mitch Dewey, Marshall Dewey; Peyton Hanson, Sam Hanson Honorable Mention: Brett Amundson

Knight Coach Kraig Hunter said, “They are probably the greatest golf team in school history. Their achievements, the scores they put up, and all of their accolades are truly amazing. On top of that, they are top notch students in the classroom and they had a great team bond. They were a very close knit group.”