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A banner year for the Panthers Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell The South Medford golf team, clockwise from bottom left, Alan Johnson, Chris Travis, Ryan Ulbricht, Brodie Sullivan and Noah Horstman, is 35 strokes ahead of Klamath Union. Behind the stellar play of senior Noah Horstman, the South Medford boys golf team is on pace to win the SOC Noah Horstman walked into the South Medford High gym as a freshman, stared at the banners on the wall and noticed there was nothing in the way of boys golf. He vowed to help change that. Three years later, Horstman and his Panther teammates are oh-so-close to winning a Southern Oregon Conference golf title and being able to add another banner to the wall. South Medford enjoys a 35-stroke lead over its nearest pursuer - Klamath Union - through the opening five conference tournaments and needs only to protect it during the two-day district tournament that kicks off Monday at Reames Golf & Country Club in Klamath Falls. "We're not celebrating yet, but this is something I've wanted for four years," Horstman says. The Panthers unquestionably have the best golf team in school history. With the 5-foot-6, 120-pound Horstman leading the way with an even-par 72.0 scoring average in conference action and a 74.0 average overall, the Panthers have won all five SOC matches and two big tournaments - the Redmond Invitational and the Southern Oregon Invitational. Coach Bill Singler knew this was going to be a good team. What he didn't know was that all five varsity players - seniors Horstman and Alan Johnson, juniors Ryan Ulbricht and Chris Travis and freshman Brodie Sullivan - would all be shooting in the 70s on a consistent basis. Sullivan's scoring average of 77.5 is excellent for a freshman and credible for a varsity player, and yet it's the worst of the bunch. "It's neat to see this team break through," Singler says. "I think it's fair to say that these kids have developed into one of the better teams in the state." While Horstman was expected to lead the way, his improvement over last season has been dramatic. Failing to qualify for the state tournament last year as an individual - his sixth-place showing at district left him as the first one out - served as a big motivator for 2002. "I had five penalty strokes over two holes and just kind of cut my own throat," he recalls. "I wanted to go to state so bad and was really frustrated when it didn't happen. "But it made me more determined than ever." Horstman vowed to get more out of his lessons from Grants Pass teaching pro Ed Fischer. He entered every tournament he could over the summer, playing regularly on the Oregon Golf Association junior circuit and entering a couple of big tourneys, including a U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier at West Linn in which he finished fourth and just missed advancing to the national event. When school began, Horstman enrolled in a weight-training class taught by Jerry Wolfram and gradually went from the 100 pounds he weighed last season to the 120 he weighs now. The added strength, along with Fischer's instruction on the practice tee, have enabled Horstman to increase his drives from 220 yards to about 260. Horstman has also improved his diet and sleep habits. "There are a lot of little things you can do to get better," Horstman says, "and they all add up." All that was missing was an attitude adjustment. Horstman had a habit of throwing temper tantrums and an occasional club whenever he hit an exceptionally poor shot, but as a senior leader and team captain he knew he had to put a lid on his emotions. "I made a deal with myself seven months ago to never again throw a club or slam one into the ground," says Horstman, who thus far has made good on his pledge. "It's such a turn-off to everyone else on the team and to anyone watching. "When I see someone else do that now I just think, 'Wow, that used to be me.'" Horstman, whose brilliant short game is fueled by a deadly putter, registered his first score in the 60s two weeks ago at Rogue Valley Country club when he carded a 3-under-par 69. He has six other rounds of par or better. "Noah has really settled in and matured," Singler says. "He's the product of pure determination." Johnson, the team's other senior, has also made huge strides since last season - improving his stroke average from 82.5 to 76.5. Unlike Horstman, Johnson plays little golf in the off-season because he's busy playing basketball. He was one of the top players on the Panthers' SOC championship team last winter and earned a basketball scholarship to Oregon Tech in March. "I'm not sure I'm swinging the club too much better than last year," Johnson says, "but I'm a lot tougher mentally." Johnson points to last week's pre-district tournament in Klamath Falls as an example. He three-putted five greens on the front nine that left him at 6-over-par, but shot a 2-under 34 on the back nine for a respectable 76. "Last year I would have gone completely in the tank with a front nine like that," says Johnson, who learned the game at age 6 from his grandfather, Ed Herreras. With Horstman shooting 72, Ulbricht and Travis 75s and Johnson 76, South Medford posted a season-best score of 298 at the pre-district tournament at Reames to edge Klamath Union by two strokes. It was a nice tune-up for district and, the Panthers hope, a harbinger for the Class 4A state tournament May 13-14 at Langdon Farms in Aurora. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.