NORTHEAST MEN’S GOLF LOOKS TO BUILD ON RECENT SUCCESS AS THEY START A NEW SEASON IN FLORIDA

NORFOLK, Neb. – The Northeast Community College men's golf team is prepared to tee the ball up in their first golf tournament of the season on Thursday at Saddlebrook Golf Resort in Wesley Chapel, Florida as part of the Saddlebrook Spring Kickoff. Ty Heimes is in his second season as the head coach of the Hawks and is itching with anticipation to see the hard work his squad has put in over the offseason translate to the course.

"We have a young team," Heimes said. "Lots of freshmen that will see significant playing time. They had a good winter. I feel like we really accomplished quite a bit this winter in our indoor facility. The guys are eager to get going. We have some good sophomore leaders. I'm excited to go and see them play this spring."

Collegiate golf is a rare sport that plays competitively year-round, but the spring season is where teams and players qualify for nationals. Heimes is encouraged by what he saw in the fall and is looking to see growth from his group to propel them to even greater highs this spring.

"We had some good tournaments in the fall," Heimes said. "I think our youth showed in a couple. The courses that they play in high school compared to the courses that they play in college are completely different. I think the freshmen are going to take a big jump. Usually, the fall for freshmen to the spring for freshmen is where you make a big jump. A lot of them haven't golfed as much yet in their career as they do during their first year of college."

Each of the last two seasons have resulted in a sophomore from Northeast winning the North Central District Championship and qualifying for the national tournament as Santiago Valdes in 2023 and Heimes himself in 2022 took home the hardware. Heimes can again see that potential when evaluating his sophomores in 2024.

"Tanner Walling (Wayne, Neb.) and Rupert Hurford (Paris, France) both played a lot in the fall." Heimes said. "Both very talented. I expect them to both have a good spring. Emmett Woodland (Ontario, Canada) as well. He had a good winter."

As for the newcomers, Heimes sees a lot of potential in his first recruiting class with the Hawks as they enter the second half of their inaugural season in Norfolk.

"I'm excited about our freshmen class," Heimes said. "They showed some glimpses in the fall and that freshmen class really worked hard in our golf facility. Tyler Baumchen (Topeka, Kan.) had a really good winter. Gunther Soltvedt (Eagle, Colo.) had a really good winter. Gage Burns (Creighton, Neb.) is someone who I expect to do some big things as well. I also have really high hopes for Martin Hempston (London, England), Brett Leonard (Saskatchewan, Canada) and Corbin Murphy (Ogallala, Neb.) as well. They all worked really hard this winter and they have a lot of potential."

Heimes put a lot of thought and effort into making the schedule for Northeast this season and hopes that playing Gates Park Golf Course in Waterloo, Iowa three times this spring will pay off as that is the site where the North Central District Championship will be held in 2024.

"We are going to play the regional course as much as we can," Heimes said. "We have two tournaments ahead of regionals there, so we will play that regional course three times. The goal is to get as many reps there as we can and let the guys really figure out that course as much as we can."

The Hawks will begin the season with a three-day tournament in the Tampa, Florida area this week and Heimes believes the trip adds another dynamic element to the upcoming schedule.

"Going down to Florida is big for our program," Heimes said. "We'll go down there during spring break and stay down there for about a week. We plan on playing some good competition and playing in some nice weather."

 A few months from now when the season ends, what does Heimes want to see from his team to consider this year a successful one?

"Guys having better scoring averages than the fall," Heimes said. "I truly believe that they put in the work. If everyone can lower their averages, we will really see that team score go down. Our goal every year is to make nationals. Placing top three in the region accomplishes that goal. It will be tough, and it will get tight at regionals, but we are ready to go!"

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