Louisburg senior Logan Glenn makes his way onto the green after this shot on the fairway Monday during the Louisburg Invitational at Metcalf Ridge Golf Course. Glenn won the individual title with a 78 while the Wildcat team finished first with a 325.

Logan Glenn had a hard time containing his excitement and for good reason.

Not only did Glenn help the Louisburg golf team to a first-place finish at the Louisburg Invitational on Monday, but he put together his best performance of the season. Glenn won the individual title with a season-best 78.

Glenn, who was Louisburg’s No. 5 golfer, tied with teammate Ty Martin and De Soto’s Daniel Lee, but won the tiebreaker. Lee would go on to finish second and Martin medaled third at Metcalf Ridge Golf Course.

“Logan has been playing his best golf this year,” Louisburg coach Brian Burns said. “We always need that to help our team score, and he knows this. He cares about his teammates and tries to be consistent with his game. I am glad he played well.”

Senior T.J. Smith chips onto the green Monday during the Louisburg Invitational.

All of the Wildcats had a hard time containing their excitement following the team title as they posed for team pictures and later posted it all over social media. As a team, Louisburg shot a 325 to defeat second-place De Soto by seven strokes in the six-team tournament.

“It was great to win at home,” Burns said. “The nice weather allowed us to get more comfortable in shot selection on not just the front nine, but also the back nine during practice. The guys were excited to show it off too.”

Like Glenn, Martin had his best score of the season as well. The Louisburg sophomore felt comfortable on his home course as did junior Hogan Welch.

Welch was the team’s third medalist as he shot an 82 to finish eighth overall and has been the team’s most consistent golfer all season.

“Ty and Hogan have held the team together this year,” Burns said. “I would be surprised if they did not go to state golf this year.”

The rest of the Wildcat team also had solid outings. Junior T.J. Svoboda shot an 87 to get fourth on the Wildcat team.

Senior Brady Lambeth shot an 89 and fellow senior T.J. Smith finished with a 90 to round out the Louisburg team scores.

The Wildcats return to action Monday when they travel to the Ottawa Invitational. Tee time is set for 2 p.m.

Hogan Welch watches his tee shot during the Osawatomie Invitational on Tuesday. Welch shot an 82 to medal 12th overall and teammate Logan Glenn shot an 84 to medal 18th.

OSAWATOMIE – The Louisburg golf team competed in its largest tournament to date Tuesday when it traveled to the Osawatomie Invitational.

The Wildcats finished sixth overall in the 18-team tournament as 95 golfers hit the links at Osawatomie Golf Course. When it was all over, Louisburg medaled two in the top 20 and finished with a score of 342.

Junior Hogan Welch and senior Logan Glenn were the top Wildcat golfers as they finished 12^th and 18^th, respectively.

“Whenever you can have four golfers shoot in the 80’s when stroke and distance is involved, I am pretty happy,” Louisburg coach Brian Burns said. “One of my top three golfers shot in the 90’s to find out he had the flu and missed school the next day. I believe we could’ve had one more score in the lower 80’s that would have medaled the team for the tournament.”

Welch had a good tournament as he was just a couple strokes off a top-10 finish. He finished with an 82 to lead Louisburg. Welch shot a 44 on the first nine holes, but rebounded with a 38 on the back.

“Hogan has played great this year on the back nine holes,” Burns said. “If he could put his front nine together he would be in the 70’s. I am pleased with his game. He has worked really hard with getting more distance than when I first coached him.”

Logan Glenn watches his tee shot during the Osawatomie Invitational on Tuesday at Osawatomie Golf Course.

Glenn had his best tournament of the season as he fired an 84 on the par 71 course, including 40 on the back nine.

“Logan has been playing well because he knows when he is hitting the ball wrong for a few holes, he knows how to fix it better than last year,” Burns said. “I ask the golfers what spot they want to be placed in many times to lessen the pressure of the tournament. Sometimes if they play with someone they know, they can relax more. Others that play with better players, it makes them compete harder. My golfers have different personalities, but are all fun to coach.”

Senior T.J. Smith and sophomore Ty Martin also had their ups and downs, but still finished with an 88. Smith played in his first varsity competition of the season.

Brady Lambeth, a senior, carded a 94 as he shot a 47 on each nine. Junior T.J. Svoboda rounded out the Wildcat team with a 96.

Louisburg returns to action Monday when it gets a chance to compete on its home course – Metcalf Ridge – for its home tournament. Tee time is set for 1 p.m.

Louisburg’s Ty Martin chips onto the green Monday during the Paola Invitational at Paola Country Club. Martin shot an 86 to lead the Wildcats to a third-place team finish.

PAOLA – For the second straight week, the Louisburg golf team brought home a top three team finish and two individual medalists.

The Wildcats welcomed back Ty Martin to the fold as he made his season debut and it was a good one. On Monday at the Paola Invitational, Martin led the Wildcats as he medaled 12th overall with an 86 and helped Louisburg to a third place finish with a 357.

Martin missed the team’s opening tournament at Gardner and the Wildcats placed third as a team there as well.

“We missed out on having Ty at our first tournament,” Louisburg coach Brian Burns said. “We would have gotten second or possibly even first.”

Martin wasn’t the only Wildcat to come home with a medal as Hogan Welch was right behind Martin and took 14th after he shot an 88.

Central Heights’ Matt Percy was the top individual medalist with a 76 and Paola’s Tyler Dent was second with a 77 on his home course at Paola Country Club. Paola also won the team crown with a 319 and Kansas City Christian was second with a 334.

The Wildcats were welcomed with some tough playing conditions as the wet course gave all six golfers some problems, especially on the first nine holes. Louisburg, however, was able to adjust and shoot well on the back nine.

T.J. Svoboda chips his way onto the green during the Paola Invitational on Monday at Paola Country Club

“All the golfers at Paola were faced with stroke and distance and some soggy conditions,” Burns said. “Also, there were some pretty fast greens. We have been putting on slower greens by placing the ball a club length from the flight where it went out of bounds. You could tell with the difference of the scores as most golfers were shooting higher than normal.

“If you averaged out our scores, the team would be in the high 80’s under the new conditions. I was happy with their play.”

Brady Lambeth finished third on the Wildcat team with a 91, while Nathan Moore and T.J. Svoboda each shot a 92. Logan Glenn rounded out the team with a 93.

The Wildcats are hoping for better conditions and better scores Tuesday when they travel to the Osawatomie Invitational. Tee time is set for 1 p.m.

“We need to get back to the short game more this week and get confidence in a couple players’ driving and we should be ready to go for the Osawatomie tournament,” Burns said.

GARDNER – The Louisburg golf team didn’t need to shake off much rust in its first tournament of the season.

Louisburg competed in the 12-team Gardner-Edgerton Invitational on Monday in Gardner and the Wildcats finished third in the team standings with a 327. The Wildcats also had two individual medalists.

Junior Hogan Welch had a strong performance his first time out as he finished sixth with a 77 and fellow junior T.J. Svoboda was 10th with a 78 on the par 71 course.

The drizzly and windy conditions caused problems for some teams, but the Wildcats were able to adjust and put together a good team performance.

“We did not have one score in the 100’s and had two in the 70’s, so I was very happy,” Louisburg coach Brian Burns said. “We were missing Ty Martin and I know we would have got second if he would have been able to make it.

“The course was in good condition. It took a while for some of the guys to work with the brakes and speeds of the greens. The wind made it more difficult, but the dampness helped with the approach shots.”

Welch started his day a little rocky, but finished it strong as he shot an even par on the back nine to secure his first medal of the season. Svoboda, like Welch, shot a 41 on his first nine holes, but was just 1-over par on the final nine.

“Hogan shot even par on the back because he got his short game going which we have dedicated our time to this season,” Burns said. “T.J. has been working at the course (Metcalf Ridge) and playing a lot of golf when he is done with work. He has put in the work to become a better golfer.”

Senior Logan Glenn was next on the team with an 82 and finished 18th overall. Another senior, Brady Lambeth shot a 90 and finished 30th.

Sophomore Nick Welch finished with a 92 and senior Nathan Moore shot a 96 to round out the Wildcat team scores.

“I believe all the golfers having good weather to practice and dedication to the short game really helped the beginning of the season scores,” Burns said. “Also, our course (Metcalf Ridge) can be difficult, so playing an easier course helped our scores.”

Paola shot a 320 to win the tournament by four strokes. De Soto was second with a 324. Paola’s Tyler Dent took home top individual honors with a 74 and De Soto’s Jacob Kerr was second with a 75.

Louisburg hits the links again Monday when it travels to Paola Country Club for the Paola Invitational. Tee time is set for 3 p.m.

The Louisburg High School golf team will have five seniors on the roster along with plenty of underclassmen with experience this season. The Wildcats open their season Monday when they travel to Gardner.

Photo courtesy of Expressions Midwest

Just looking at the roster, the Louisburg golf team features one with a lot of experience.

There are five seniors listed competing for the six varsity spots along with a few underclassmen. However, three of those seniors weren’t a part of last season’s team.

Senior newcomers Mesa Ribordy, T.J. Smith and Brady Lambeth will hit the links for the first time in a Wildcat uniform and will join veterans Nathan Moore and Logan Glenn when Louisburg opens its season next week.

“They are all very athletic and listen well to instructions,” Louisburg coach Brian Burns said. “All of these guys are competing for the six varsity spots every week.”

Joining the five seniors will be some seasoned underclassmen. Juniors Hogan Welch and T.J. Svoboda, along with sophomore Nick Welch, all saw varsity time last season.

Hogan Welch was one of the Wildcats’ top golfers in 2014 as he missed the state tournament by just two strokes. He also finished fifth in the Frontier League tournament.

Burns believes Hogan and his other golfers have a chance to do some good things this season.

“My expectations are for all of the varsity golfers to shoot around an average of 86,” Burns said. “All of the varsity golfers have all aspects of the game, if they can just omit that one bad hole on the front and back nines.”

The good weather has also allowed the Wildcats to spend a lot of time on the course, which has helped to sharpen their game.

“Practices have been up and down with scores,” Burns said. “However, (Monday) was a good day for all of the varsity players. Hopefully they can keep that focus from here to the finish. They are starting to get more comfortable with their short game, which is helping.”

Louisburg opens its season at 9 a.m. on Monday when it travels to the Gardner Invitational.

LOUISBURG HIGH SCHOOL GOLF SCHEDULE

Apr. 6                                          @ Gardner                                                       9 a.m.

Apr. 13                                        @ Paola                                                            3 p.m.

Apr. 14                                        @ Gardner (Junior Varsity)                           3 p.m.

Apr. 20                                        @ Anderson County (JV)                          2 p.m.

Apr. 21                                        @ Osawatomie                                               1 p.m.

Apr. 27                                        Louisburg Invitational                                    1 p.m.

Apr. 28                                        @Shawnee Golf Course (League)            8 a.m.

May 4                                         @ Ottawa                                                        2 p.m.

May 6                                         @ Osawatomie (JV)                                       3 p.m.

May 11                                       @ Ottawa (JV)                                                 3 p.m.

May 12                                       @ Anderson County                                       1 p.m.

May 12                                       @ Paola (JV)                                                    3 p.m.

May 14                                       @ Prairie View (Linn Valley)                         1:30 p.m.

May 18                                       @ Regionals (@Osawatomie)                      TBA