The Onalaska High School girls golf team spent its entire season trying to chase down Tomah.
The Timberwolves dominated the MVC this season and won — comfortably — every one of the conference meets.
The Hilltoppers were a distant second in all of those meets, and the trend continued when Tomah shot a 332 and Onalaska a 352 in a WIAA Division 1 regional at Hiawatha Club in Tomah.
“In most of the events where we saw them, they had us by 20 strokes,” Onalaska coach David Kazda said. “We’d be 20 ahead of the next team, but there was always that gap.”
Things changed when players teed up last Monday at the Wisconsin River Golf Course in Stevens Point.
Only two of the eight teams playing could secure a chance to compete in the state tournament, and Onalaska wasn’t deterred.
The Hilltoppers played their game and gave themselves a chance.
And while senior Sydney Kranig didn’t shoot the best round of her season, she knocked down a bogey putt on No. 18 that gave Onalaska its first team spot in the state tournament — by beating Tomah by one stroke for second place — since 2018.
“We, as coaches, had access to scores, but I didn’t want to put (players) in a place of having to make a shot because they knew the scores,” Kazda said. “With four holes to go, there were four teams within two strokes of each other.
“When we got to 18 with the last group, we were up (on Tomah) by two strokes.”
Kazda didn’t cave and let Kranig know the situation. Instead, he let her take care of business.
The fact that she did, and teammates came through with some big rounds, the Hilltoppers get to spend the weekend preparing to compete again after knocking off a team that shot lower than they did during 11 direct matchups this season.
The Timberwolves beat the Hilltoppers by as many as 42 strokes during invitational competition and won every conference meet by at least 11 shots. Tomah won the MVC championship meet with a 337, which was 23 strokes better than Onalaska.
But Kazda said getting through the sectional was always a goal for his team, and the way it played as the postseason approached made him think it was a real possibility.
“With the scoring being what they’ve been and knowing top four (from each regional) go to sectional, we definitely could do that,” Kazda said. “Looking at the scores from other regionals, I thought there was an outside shot we could get in.”
The Hilltoppers made that happen with senior Rickie Tillotson and sophomore Finley Schams leading the way. Both shot 85 and finished in a four-way tie for fourth placed individually.
Junior Becka Mohr added an 88 and Kranig a 99.
Their focus has since turned to the University Ridge Golf Course down in Madison, where they’ll tee off Monday for the first of two 18-hole days. A practice round is scheduled for 12:40 p.m. Sunday, and senior Brooklynn Williams will be the first Onalaska golfer on the tee at 8 a.m. Monday.
The sectional performance was the extension of a solid season that only trailed a Tomah team that has been among the state’s best on Division 1 for years. The Timberwolves made seven state appearances from 2011-2022 and was ranked eighth by the Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin this season.
The Hilltoppers had four players among the top 10 during the MVC season. Schams was third in individual points, and Kranig was sixth. Tillotson was eighth and Mohr 10th.
“We just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Kazda said. “(Qualifying) is about the camaraderie keeping our focus.
“The course itself is not intimidating as long as we stay focused.”
