—Messenger photo by Dana Becker Returning letterwinners for the St. edmond girls GOLF team include (left to right) Jaci Taylor, Riley Mayer, Grace Viaene and Page Kinney.

Kelsey Faiferlick is excited to begin her second season as coach of the St. Edmond girls golf team.

The Gaels return four letterwinners and add four freshmen to the roster this spring.

Back for St. Edmond are seniors Jaci Taylor and Page Kinney, along with juniors Riley Mayer and Grace Viaene.

“I am excited to have a great team full of dedicated players,” said Faiferlick, a former Gael golfer herself who continued her career on the links at at Park University. “We lost our only senior from a year ago, Alli Condon, but we have several young players that seem promising.”

Joining Taylor, Kinney, Mayer and Viaene are sophomore Hannah Zinnel and ninth-graders Cameron Brown, Clare Condon, Rylee Kinney and Amanda Richman.

“I expect the upperclassmen to lead the team this year and assist the freshmen coming in,” Faiferlick said. “Everyone has been working hard to improve so far, even though we haven’t been able to get outside much.”

Having been around the links for several years now, Faiferlick — a multiple-time city tournament women’s open division champion — is pleased with where things are headed.

“The golf program at St. Edmond is growing, and I hope that it continues to do so,” Faiferlick said.

Last year, St. Edmond averaged a 249 over nine holes and a 457 for 18 holes between its Top-4 scorers. Mayer had the low average with a 56.8 for nine, followed by Viaene at 57.3.

Mayer recorded the lowest nine-hole score with a 48 and 18-hole score at 99. Viaene had a 50 and 102 for her lowest carded scores of the year.

The Gaels will host both the CYO and North Central Conference meets at Lakeside Golf Course this year. The CYO is set for April 26, and the field includes Bishop Garrigan, Sioux City Heelan, LeMars Gehlen, Carroll Kuemper, Remsen St. Mary’s and Storm Lake St. Mary’s.

St. Edmond’s regular season opener is Friday against South Central Calhoun.

Roster

Seniors

Jaci Taylor, Page Kinney.

Juniors

Riley Mayer, Grace Viaene.

Sophomore

Hannah Zinnel.

Freshmen

Cameron Brown, Clare Condon, Rylee Kinney, Amanda Richman.

Schedule

April 7 — South Central Calhoun; 11 — at Southeast Valley; 17 — at Greene County; 18 — at Iowa Falls-Alden; 21 — at Clear Lake, Webster City; 24 — South Hamilton; 26 — host CYO; 28 — Hampton-Dumont, Humboldt.

May 2 — at Algona, Clarion-Goldfield/Dows; 8 — host NCC meet; 11 — Fort Dodge; 15 — regionals.