The Wright City junior overcame a tough start and an early downpour to finish tied for third at last Thursday's Eastern Missouri Conference Tournament held at Innsbrook. He shot a 12-over-par 82. "My putting was pretty good," Pluchinski said. "It saved me a lot actually." As a team, the Wildcats had a long day on the course and shot a 403 to finish seventh out of nine schools. Bowling Green remained the class of the EMO by winning the team crown for another year with a 350. The Bobcats had three of their five golfers place in the top eight and medal. Elsberry was second with a 356, followed by Silex (363), Montgomery County (388) and Orchard Farm (391). "The team we're playing, that is pretty good," Coach Bill Schaffer said. "It's not the best we finished, but certainly not the worst. I think they did pretty well. We're still patching teams together on a weekly basis." For Pluchinski, it was the second straight year he placed near the top of the conference leaderboard. A year ago, he also placed third with an 80. Jake Boschert of Orchard Farm won medalist honors with a 10-over 80, one stroke ahead of Silex's Kevin Mudd. Bowling Green's Kyle Scherder, the defending individual champ, tied with Pluchinski with an 82. "I really would have liked to have finished higher up," Pluchinski said. "It's my home course. I definitely could have lost a few strokes here and there." Schaffer added: "An 82 today is really good. Those first or six holes in the rain and in the wind were pretty hard." Thanks to his putter, Pluchinski avoided further damage. He recorded five of his nine pars on the front nine to sit at 7-over halfway through his round. He then closed out the back nine with four consecutive pars, beginning with No. 14. Schaffer acknowledged Pluchinski's strength when reaching the green. "He has just a good set-up for putting," Schaffer said. "He does it the same way every time. We drill into them to get a routine and get a set pattern. He has a good eye for reading the greens and he has good pacing. When his putting is off, that is when his pace is off." Kyle Jefferson posted the second-best score for the Wildcats with a 99. Teammate Mike Trembley followed with a 101. Trevor Scheer added a 121. Not included in the final team score was Drew Mueller's 126. Pluchinski is eyeing his second straight state appearance. Wright City competed at districts Tuesday at Woods Fort in Troy. Regardless, the Wildcats are expected to receive a boost next year when a couple of more players return. Plus, the entire varsity lineup is expected to remain intact. "It looks good for next year," Schaffer said. "Going into next year, I think we are going to be pretty good."