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NSC Meet at Victory Links
Joe Fairbanks made a nice recovery after a tough opening round, and ended up leading the Vikings to a third place finish in the second golf invite of the year.
The senior clubber shot a one-over 37 at Victory Links to pace the Vikings. Fellow senior Jared Houle shot another 38, his second of the year in two meets, to stay consistent.
Mitch Barg came in with a 38, as head coach Tom Moriarty had just recently preached that the Vikings would need at least three guys in the 30’s to compete for wins in this conference.
Regan Nelson rounded out the scoring, shooting a 42 for North Branch, Their team total of 155 edged out Benilde’s 159, but still fell behind St. Louis Park, who won the meet with a 148 and Spring Lake Park, who carded a 149.

NSC Meet at Victory Links
The guys returned to Victory Links the next day for another go around at the conference.
For some odd reason, the long time varsity group just didn’t have the consistency or stability that they’ve been used to the last few years.
Fairbanks shot a 39, Houle a 41 and Barg a 42, all higher scores than they had the day before.
Nick Kress really came through, though. After shooting a 43 the first day, he returned to card a 38 the next day and actually lead the Vikings. Nelson shot a 41 and Jon Buboltz shot a 43.
The four stroke difference in scores dropped North Branch from third place the day before to fifth place. Benilde won the meet with a 150 and St. Louis Park finished second with a 151.

Midseason NSC Meet at Bunker Hills GC
The Vikings played the two-day tournament with hopes of winning it, much like they did with the season-ending conference tournament last year, but Spring Lake Park ended up cruising to a victory in the meet.
On the first day, North Branch struggled to a 166. Houle was the only Viking to card a score under 42, shooting a 38. Fairbanks came in at 42, and Kress, Nelson and Buboltz all carded 43s. Barg toughed out a 45.
The score gave North Branch a disappointing seventh place finish in the first leg of the tournament on the East Course.
West Course
The Vikings followed it up with one of their better scores of the year, and were only one stroke out of second place.
Although Fairbanks was the only Viking under 40, shooting a 38, the rest of the team was close. Barg shot a 40, Kress a 41 and Nelson a 42. Buboltz hit a 44 and Houle, normally steady and consistent, struggled to a season-worst 45.
As a team, North Branch scored a 161 on the tougher West Course, good enough for third place. Spring Lake Park was tops with 156 and Totino-Grace was second with a 160.
Although the Vikings have failed to stay consistent this year, Moriarty still sees major potential in his lineup.
“We have had great weather so far, so the boys can't blame anything but their golf games,” he said of the recent struggles. “We need to keep the ball in play off the tee and make some putts. We have three meets left to make a move, I believe we still have the potential to score low.”

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