News Photo by James Andersen The Alpena boys golf team includes: coach Eric Mitchell, assistant coach Tate Skiba, Zach Ross, Jake Vought, Frank Hnup, Jhett Werle, Jon Stone, Will Forbush, Alec Paulsell, Charlie Halleck, Mitchell Wood, Jake Osterlund, Nick Schultz, Tommy Hein, Sean Stevens, Evan LeTourneau, Austin Ritter and Michael Coonrod.

If all goes well, 2017 could be a banner season for the Alpena boys golf team.

With one of its largest teams in years, a talented group of veterans and a desire to improve, the Wildcats have come a long way under coach Eric Mitchell since he took over the program in 2015.

“It’s the largest team yet. It’s good for the program to have this many young people,” Mitchell said. “We’ve got a lot of freshmen and sophomores this year which is good for the future, very few juniors and three senior leaders who are in their third year with me.”

With 17 golfers, the Wildcats have the numbers to compete and they’ll be led by three seniors who are entering their third season under Mitchell.

Leading the charge for Alpena is senior Zach Ross, who established himself as Alpena’s No. 1 golfer two seasons ago and has continued to improve. He’ll be joined by fellow seniors Tommy Hein and Evan LeTourneau at the front of Alpena’s lineup.

“He’s played a lot over the summer and his game’s gotten pretty good,” Mitchell said of Ross. “We’re really going to rely on Tommy, Evan and Zach. That fourth scorer, the young guys are going to be able to compete for it all the way which will make this a more competitive program.”

High on Alpena’s list of goals this season is ending the year on a high note. Alpena hit its stride midway through the season last year when its top four golfers regularly scored in the low 80s. Unfortunately when the end of the season came, Alpena’s scores went up and its season ended early.

“Golf is that weird sport where you think you’re going to get better all year long. We hit a point midway through the season where we could have competed at the state level,” Mitchell said. “We actually faltered toward the end of the season and that’s something we’re going to work on this year, continuing to get better last year.”

If they can stay consistent throughout the season, the Wildcats are hopeful they can improve their standing in the Big North Conference. Alpena finished fourth last season and has improved its scoring in each of its previous two seasons. If the consistency comes, Mitchell is hopeful the results will follow in the form of being competitive at team regional and having golfers advance to the state finals.