The Elizabethtown men’s golf team participated in the Gettysburg Spring Invitational this past Saturday at Bridges Golf Club. The Blue Jays had a great showing as the team placed ninth in the entire tournament. Facing teams like York, McDaniel, and Keystone, Penn State Harrisburg and many others, the Blue Jays had their hands full entering the tournament on Saturday.
Junior Ryan Laudman had a solid day shooting an eighty one (+9) which put him in a seven-way tie amongst the rest of the golfers. “I felt that I was hitting the ball well, however there were a few times I felt I could have done better on the hole,” Ryan said. He shot better in recent tournament, however, this was not a bad score in any way. “We’re just starting the spring season so I will be hitting the ball even better as the season goes on. I am excited for what 2014 holds.”
The underclassmen for the Blue Jays really stepped up as first-year Kyle Hakun was able to hit the ball very well shooting a eighty two (+10), which is a great showing from a first-year student. The Blue Jays were hoping the younger class could make some sort of impact early on in the season, and they did just that in this tournament. Hakun was one of two first-years to take the course this Saturday, and the Blue Jays are very excited to see how this season turns out.
Senior Zach Cook has started his final season with the Blue Jays and had a decent day on the course as well, shooting a ninety-three (+10) for the tournament. Arriving back to school Saturday evening, Cook said, “We definitely shot well today as a team.  Some of our team leaders had great days which we really needed to compete as a team in this tournament. I’m excited for the rest of the spring season. Since it is my last season, I really want to make an impact and go out with a bang.”
Cook has been a part of the Blue Jays for three years now, so the team will miss him next year.
First-year Austin Bennett shot a 101 (+29) which is not a bad showing for a first-year golfer. Bennett has had little experience, so this tournament was a learning experience for him.
The first-years for the Blue Jays are still learning the courses, so as they gain more playing time on each, they will be able to find the right paths to take. The Blue Jays have a young squad, so there will be a great amount of chemistry built between the players and courses over the next three years.
As a team, the Blue Jays played well as they shot a total of 947 (+59) which ranked them higher than rivals Widener, Keystone and Rosemont.
The Blue Jays then competed in the York College Invitational on Monday, March 24. The team finished in 10th place out of the 16 teams that competed and shot a 324 (+36) at the tournament.
The team will travel to West Chester, Pa. on Sunday, March 30 and Monday March 31 to play in the Immaculata Invitational at Hershey’s Mill Golf Club.