Ephrata boys golf secures eighth straight first place finish

EPHRATA – Ephrata boys golf is on a hot streak with eight straight tournaments where they finished in first place. As it stands, 12 players have qualified for districts. First-year head coach Dan Molitor is very pleased with his team's performance this year.  

“I'm not surprised, after I went to the first league match and I saw that we won by a lot, I thought we would win more easily throughout the season,” he said.  

On Tuesday, they placed first for the eighth straight time this year, shooting for a score of 330 

The Tigers boys golf team has seen its fair share of success in recent years. When Molitor took over, he decided to bring his own approach to leading a team. Every week the rotation for the tournaments was up for grabs. No one player had it for themselves all year. This has led to a lot of growth for the team.  

“One through five always changed each week, so we were challenged several times a week, just for placement. I knew they'd all make it, but I wanted them to earn the spot. Everybody wants to be the best player. So, I would leave it open each week, which I thought was fun, and challenge the guys to compete against each other constantly,” Molitor said.  

He put his players in a position where they were constantly pushing each other to improve and develop their skills. Strong play from Tristan McNeil, Jackson Addink and Caiden Weber has led the Tigers to a remarkable position as they reach the end of the season. Twelve players have qualified for districts, which account for over half of the team.  

For Molitor, the eighth straight is exciting but not enough to make him lose focus on the upcoming district tournaments. With one more regular-season tournament to go, he is eager to utilize this week to fine-tune the little things and make sure his team is ready to make a deep run and push for states.