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NSC Meet

The North Branch boys golf team got an impressive showing from their top trio of boys in their first match of last week, but had a tough time rounding out their scores to compete with the top teams in the North Suburban Conference.

Mike Dahl and Jared Houle led the charge with matching 84's. Houle had the better front nine, shooting a 41, while Dahl shot a 44, but Dahl came storming back in the back nine, dropping four storkes off of his front nine score for a 40. Houle added a few strokes, shooting a 43.

Joe Fairbanks rounded out the big three, scoring an 85. He shot the only sub-40 round out of all the Vikings, carding a 38 on the back nine. He had stumbled, however, on the front nine and finished with a 47.

Brandon Brindley and Mitch Barg were in a dogfight all day over the fourth spot, and Brindley took it by shooting a 91 total. Barg ended the 18-hole day with a 92.

Chris Haas rounded out the North Branch varsity golfers by shooting a 98. "It was a cold, breezy day out there," Head Coach Tom Moriarty said. "We're weren't used to playing with a lot of clothes on again."

NSC Meet at Victory Links

With a slight drizzle and cold, biting wind in their face, some of the top Vikings struggled to get their confidence up at the conference meet in Blaine.

However, some of the other guys stepped up with the top ones slumping, and North Branch still produced a solid score.

Haas, Brindley and Houle all shot very impressive 41's to lead the Vikings. "Even with absolutely horrible golf weather, they each had a great score," Moriarty said.

Dahl scored a 45, Fairbanks carded a 46 and Barg finished with a 50. The Vikings finished with a score of 168, and that left them in eighth place at the meet.

Purple Hawk Invitational

Fairbanks and Dahl were back on the prowl at the annual Purple Hawk Invitational in Cambridge. "I can't remember when we last had a team score this low for 18 holes," Moriarty exclaimed after his team shot a 328 to finish seventh out of 18 schools.

Fairbanks led the charge, shooting a 76, which was good enough to earn him sixth place out of 108 golfers. Dahl was right behind him, shooting a 78, which placed him in 14th place overall.

Houle and Brindley were the other two golfers to have their scores count for the varsity tally. Houle shot a respectable 86 on the tough course and Brindley was just behind him with an 88.

"It was a great day with super weather, and the kids did some great golfing," Moriarty said.

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