Having swept the conference field during the regular season, the Warrenton golf team was confident it could capture its first GAC Tournament title.But a few bad holes on an Innsbrook course they hadn’t played all spring proved insurmountable for the Warriors, who strolled into the clubhouse in second place after a stellar round by champion St. Charles West.“We beat them twice earlier this year head to head on our home course,” said Coach Rich Barton.This time Warrenton carded a 340 to its counterparts 326.“It was more of them winning it than us losing,” said Barton. “They definitely played well and deserved to win.”The Warriors were off to a shaky start, which their coach says they recovered from but couldn’t make up the strokes on the final nine.“The kids were really struggling at the turn,” said Barton. “I told them to stay positive at the turn and finish strong, which they did. But I know their overall scores are not where they wanted them to be.”Warrenton was strong in the Top 2 spots.No. 2 Chase Nelson shot a 77, turning in one of his better rounds at Innsbrook with a 7-over par.“I felt like Chase played pretty consistently all day long,” said Barton.Ethan Luecke recorded a 78 in the No. 1 position.“Ethan played well on the front nine but struggled on back,” said Barton. “On the fifth hole the ball hit the cart path and went out of bounds, so that kind of shook his momentum.”On the positive side, notes Barton, all five Warrenton competitors managed to secure a spot on the All-GAC team for the first time in program history. Luecke and Nelson were named to the first team.“Chase had a really uphill battle,” said Barton. “He came away with zero points in two of the regular season matches.”Even with the No. 3 through No. 5 golfers shooting higher than usual, their overall body of work preserved their spots on the second team.Senior Luke Hawley shot a 92, while Curtis Bauer carded a 93 on Wednesday.Junior Jesse Washburn recorded 101.

All five members of the Warrenton golf team were named to the GAC All-Conference team.

Derrick Forsythe Photo.