The Manhattan High boys golf team has a strong start to their season with numerous podium finishes at their first few tournaments. 

Junior Cade Cochran led the squad to a second place finish at their first tournament of the season at the Lawrence Country Club on March 31.

“I struggled a lot last year, so this tournament kind of got me back on track a little bit,” junior Cade Cochran said.

At the team’s second tournament at the Wamego Country Club on April 10, freshman Charlie Haney placed first individually, also helping the team to a first-place finish.

“I’ve had some expectations about what I could do this year, and I feel like I’ve reached those goals in a way, but I still want to do more,” Haney said. 

The third tournament was the team’s home tournament at the Manhattan High Country Club on April 14, where they defended their home turf with another first place finish. With another first place finish from Haney and a second place finish from Cochran, as well as impressive performances from junior Jackson Powers and sophomore Cooper Graham with a fourth place finish and a sixth place finish respectively.

“I’ve known a lot of the guys a lot of my life, so it’s pretty fun being able to be part of a team in golf,” Haney said. “Even though it’s an individual sport, it’s pretty fun to be a part of something and competing as a team.”

The team took home another second place finish on April 22 at the Firekeeper. Senior Tate Reid led the team with a fifth place finish.

“It felt like such a relief because I was struggling so much the first few weeks,” Reid said. “I worked really hard to try to get back some of my old form and finally, it just all came together and it felt really nice to finally put something together.” 

The team prepares for their upcoming tournaments with hard work at practices and bonding as a group.

“We’re all super close and we all hang out together outside of school,” Cochran said. “I’ve always been really competitive, but the team bonding is probably my favorite thing.”

As the season reaches its final stretch, the only senior on the team, Reid, reflects on his time golfing at Manhattan High as a whole.

“It’s been a big part of every spring for me, so having these last ones is kind of a weird feeling,” Reid said. “I’m proud of everything I’ve done here so far, just trying to finish strong.” 

The team competed at the Topeka Country Club on Monday, April 28.