The boys and girls varsity golf teams played their inaugural traveling trophy match, the Niles Township Skokie Skirmish Crosstown Classic, against Niles North on Sept. 4 and Sept 5. The boys lost the crosstown classic, while the girls won. Prior to this year, West and North played each other as regular rivals; however, now there is an official trophy, something other sports such as cross country,  football and soccer have had for years.

Despite the defeat, head boys golf coach Eric Lueder notes the team is headed in the right direction. The boys are an exciting group and he is ready to help the team improve in future matches.

“We need to improve our decisions on the golf course – when to play it safe and when to take a chance or risk. We also need to improve our golf games from inside 100 yards… The season is much different this year. This group of guys is much more committed to golf, to each other and to the program…  They are more talented than past seasons and the majority are juniors and I look forward to watching how this year plays out,” Lueder said. 

The boys team has played North three times this season. They won the first two, but lost the trophy match. Those games provided experience from playing and practice. Junior Woodie McDonald was awarded his third red jacket, a jacket given to the golfer who shot the lowest score of the match, and hopes to continue improving.

“I feel good… personally I hope to get better by just focusing on playing each shot and not worrying about other things, not worrying about how the opponent is doing [and] just playing my game and just trying to not let one bad hole ruin a round,” McDonald said. 

In the inaugural year of the traveling trophy match, the girls golf team came out on top. This season has brought both team and individual accomplishments. As a whole, the group is excited to celebrate and see how the rest of the season plays out.

“I shot a PR of 41: I just started playing this sport last fall, so it was an accomplishment for me. And of course the fact that we beat North was my favorite part. I want to remember this season as something to look back at as an adult: I hope to continue playing golf for fun and to improve my skills,” senior Haley Vigan said.

Congratulations to both the boys and girls teams for playing in their first traveling trophy match against Niles North.