MADISON – The Bay Conference’s dominance of the 100th WIAA state golf tournament was on full display at University Ridge Golf Course on June 9.
Seymour’s Vince Sigl doubled as the Division 2 state champion in individual games and Winneconne captured the D2 team title in a playoff game over Edgewood.
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Fellow Bay Conference school Xavier also competed in the D2 team field, finishing fifth overall.
Sigl’s key short game in winning the state golf title
Sigl, who won last year’s tournament in a walk, entered Day 2 of this year’s tournament with a 1-under-par 71.
He was smart in the second round and finished with a 4-under-par 68 to finish with a two-day total of 139, four shots better than runner-up Elliot Skinner of Altoona.
The main reason for Sigl’s success was his short game.
“The short game is the part of golf that I think you benefit the most from,” Sigl said. “And today and yesterday, I didn’t miss a lot of greens but when I did, I knew I had a chance to get up and down. I’ve been swinging all my life on the course, so I’m used to it now.”
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Seymour coach Katie Grassel said Sigl has a good mental game in preparation. Sigl improved on his championship numbers from last season when he shot a 147 (75-72).
“He knew that going into today he had to place better than what he did last year,” said Grassel. “Last year, he putted OK, but he knew he wanted to be able to get it out a little bit. So that was one of the things we focused on. Day 1, he was a little disappointed, but Day 2 he had a lot of one putts.
“He was happy to play this morning because it’s nice and calm. The greens aren’t torn, so it’s a good way to go out on the second day to have a little bit of green in you.”
Vince’s younger brother Owen, a junior, shot a two-day total of 151 (78-73) and tied for seventh in the individual game. Senior Tristan Drath had a two-day total of 163 (85-78) and tied for 29th.
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“Owen had a great 35 holes,” Grassel said. “He had one hole he wanted to get back. I told him not to focus on that. Tristan hits that long ball and loves the game. You can tell when he’s in his hole. I’m proud of those guys and what they’ve been able to accomplish to put Seymour on the golfing map.”
Winneconne’s Jackson Larson competes during the second day of the WIAA boys golf state tournament June 9, 2026, at the University Ridge golf course in Madison, Wis.
Wolves survive Edgewood to win D2 title
Winneconne led by several strokes over the last few holes in control of play, but a strong push from Edgewood enabled the Crusaders to earn a tie and force a playoff.
The Wolves shot a combined 15 in the playoff round compared to Edgewood’s 17 on the No. 1 hole. 1. A birdie from Parker Groff proved to be the difference.
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Winneconne won by 620. Xavier was fifth with 634.
“That’s the dream and the way out for sure,” Groff said. “It’s my last year and I have to play one hole to finish there. We played well as a team. A couple of guys hit some good shots and I made that putt to close it.”
Groff said he didn’t want to let the nerves get to him at that point.
“I thought don’t let the emotions get to you and don’t focus,” she said. “So we did it and made the putt. It went in on the right side, the bottom of the cup.”
Austin Dobbe shot a two-day total of 149 (78-71) to tie for fourth overall and lead the Wolves with Groff four strokes back (76-77-153).
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Junior Sawyer Krueger (85-76-161), Jackson Larson (83-80-163) and Sully Ramthun 79-86-165 also competed for the Wolves.
Dobbe said the team is confident in that moment of great pressure, the playoffs.
“I know our team is very good. We have done it many times,” he said. “We did what I thought we would do.
“We’ve been in this for two years, the same team. We’re good friends. We all get along. It’s a great team. The best team I’ve ever seen.”
It was the Wolves’ seventh trip to state and first title. Winneconne came close recently, finishing second in 2023 to Edgewood.
Winneconne coach Chris Peters, who shares head coaching duties with Brad Thomas, said Edgewood has been an enemy for a long time.
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“We always finished behind Edgewood,” Peters said. “We took third in a couple of years as well. So we battled those guys all the time. Kind of like going back and forth with Xavier. One of those schools where historically we’ve always competed against them and they seemed to get the best of us somehow. So to come out on top, the way we did, is very satisfying.”
Xavier’s Derek Watry grabbed a fourth apiece with Winneconne’s Dobbe. He shot a two-day 149 (78-71).
Phillip Schmidtke (82-76-158) tied for 23rd for the Hawks with William Bauman (78-82-160) tied for 26th. Jack Schmidtke (83-84-167) and Grant Neumann (86-84-170) also competed for the Hawks.
In Division 3, Shiocton freshman Owen Reese finished 25th with a 166 (86-80).
Andrew Ostermann of Kimberly competes in the 2026 WIAA state golf championships at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, June 9.
Papermakers finished second in Division 1
Kimberly placed second in the D1 team competition with a score of 592. That was 14 strokes behind D1 Middleton, but the Papermakers finished three strokes ahead of defending D1 champion Marquette. De Pere finished fourth with a total of 601.
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Andrew Ostermann led the Papermakers with a fifth place finish. He shot a two-day total of 140 (67-73).
“Coming in the boys were very confident, thinking they had a chance. They were hoping to get second place,” said Kimberly coach Greg Lueneburg. “Andrew is the only one who has said it. He stood up and showed that he has been a veteran and knows what to do here under pressure. The other guys also stepped up, they were good enough to take second place, which is amazing.”
Tyler Steeno tied for 12th (76-70-146) and Collin Hermann was 20th (76-72-148) for the papermakers. Drew Grant (80-80-160) and Tyson West (78-82-160) tied for 66th.
All five golfers are juniors, which bodes well for the papermakers next season.
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“They’re already talking about how they’re going to start doing things tomorrow, so they’re ready to go,” Lueneburg said. “They want to win something next year, which is a good attitude.”
Appleton North’s Jonathan Huenink is tied for 33rd after shooting a two-day total of 153 (77-76).
De Pere was led by freshman Grant Lawton, who finished 10th at 143 (72-71). Cooper Eakin tied for 33rd with 153, Palmer Anderson tied for 39th with 154, Jonah Garot tied for 54th with 158 and Cam Bjorge tied for 72nd with 161.
West De Pere’s Grant Parrett tied for 58th and 159th. Bay Port’s Connor Ness tied for 48th at 157.
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Kewaunee’s Evan MacCaux tied for fifth in Division 3 with a two-day total of 155.
This article first appeared in the Appleton Post-Crescent: Seymour’s Vince Sigl at WIAA high school boys golf state championship
