ARLINGTON — The Eagles are now on everybody’s radar.
That’s what happens when you come out of nowhere to win the division championship. But with high results come high expectations the following season, which boys coach Jack Greaves thinks is a change of pace.
“It will be for me, but I think we have enough turnover, and Anthony (Allen) and Jack (Lindley) are good enough that it won’t bother them much,” he said. “For me, expectations are always high.”
The 2010 Arlington boys golf team surpassed even Greaves’ expectations, winning the Wesco North, having a co-medalist in the divisional tournament and sending two to state. Greaves called last year the best Arlington boys golf has ever seen but has similar goals for 2011.
“[To] repeat as Wesco North champions. It’s a simple goal but not easy to go out and do. There are a lot of good golfers in this league and we will be fighting tooth and nail to stay on top this year.”
But the boys return a number of golfers to a solid team, including Allen, a sophomore who took a handful of medalist honors in conference matches.
“I think Anthony’s game has matured a lot, and I am expecting bigger things out of him this year,” said Greaves of the all-Western Conference selection. “He has the potential to be the best golfer in the Wesco and have a strong finish at state this year.”
The Eagles also return Lindley, who had a share in the Wesco North individual title as a sophomore in 2010.
“Jack is my captain this year and I am relying on his leadership to help out a really young team,” said Greaves. “His game is solid and as soon as he gets it through his head that he is good enough to be at the top of the leader board, I think we will see those type of results more often.”
Filling out the Arlington roster will be sophomore Cody McClane and juniors Justin Brackett and Karl Bielser.
Eagle girls full of youth
Juniors Cassie Van Loo and Lauren Grogan are set to lead a girls golf team into 2011 with the responsibility of helping the younger players get acclimated to the Wesco North.
“We’re a relatively young team,” said Greaves. “I would be happy if we qualified four or more girls to districts. That would set us up well for the following year.”
The two juniors will act as co-captains for Arlington and Greaves said they both bring different aspects of leadership.
“Cassie is a lot of fun to have on the team. She was a relative beginner last year and her game improved tremendously,” he said.
And then there is Grogan, who developed leadership abilities during basketball season.
“Lauren is a strong competitor and needs to gain a little confidence that she can play golf in this league, but she showed that in basketball,” said Greaves.
Newcomers Danyell Winterrowd and Ashley Slentz are a pair that Greaves said to keep an eye on.
