Men's Outlook

There are two things that really stick out on the Lewis-Clark State College men’s golf roster for the 2010-11 season: Connor McCracken and depth. The problem is that after McCracken, there are a lot of question marks with the Warriors’ depth.

McCracken, a senior from Eagle, Idaho, is the two-time Frontier Conference’s Player of the Year, an honor that goes to the golfer who shoots the lowest total in the conference’s three regular-season tournaments.

One of the longest drivers on the team, McCracken was a model of consistently a year ago when he averaged 72.1 strokes during the 22 rounds he played during the regular season, placed 10th or better in every event but one he took part in, and was a third team NAIA All-America selection.

"It’s very comforting to know you have a player with the experience and the ability like Connor to anchor the team," LCSC coach Paul Thompson said. "One of Connor’s strong points is that he is pretty even tempered. There are not a lot of highs and not a lot lows on the course with him."

The Warriors also have their largest roster in years with 10 players on the squad, but that’s also where the questions start.

Senior Ben House is the only other Warrior with much experience at the Frontier Conference level, but House has only one semester of eligibility remaining. He restarted his career with the Warriors during the second semester of the 2008-09 school year so he will not take part with the team in the fall semester when two of the three conference tourneys are held.

That leaves the No. 2 spot on the squad, for now, wide open. Both junior Brad Tracy and sophomore Kyler Nilsson return from a year ago. Nilsson played well at the conference tournament and was the team’s second-leading scorer during the final 36-hole event against Rocky Mountain. Although he was playing independently at the third and final conference tournament last year, Tracy shot the low round of the day with a 69. Thompson said both will be in the thick of things this year.

The Warriors could have another returner in James Rooney, who came from Scotland to play at LCSC during the 2007-08 season, but has sat out the past three years. Prior to the start of the season, the school was petitioning the NAIA so he could be eligible to play this season.

The remaining five players on the squad are all newcomers, including four junior college transfers. Kyler Gable, Tyler Johnson, and Jason Molner were teammates at Community Colleges of Spokane, while Dillon Williams, the son of Washington State University golf coach Walt Williams, is a transfer from North Idaho College.

"These four are all seasoned players," Thompson said. "They have a lot of golf experience."

The lone freshman on the squad is Drew Reinland of Walla Walla. He was the Player of the Year in his league.

"We should be strong with a lot of depth," Thompson said. "It’s going to be a battle for the top five (varsity) positions. I really can’t tell who the five will be. I don’t know if the players like that, but as a coach, I do."

The Warriors will play a pair of conference tournaments in Salt Lake and then Great Falls during the fall, and then will play their final conference tournament in April in Butte, Mont. Like last year, the teams will then be seeded based on their added scores from the three tournaments for the single-elimination bracket conference tournament. LCSC’s lone home match is the Warrior Invitational on March 14-15 at the Clarkston Golf & CC.

Women's Outlook

Like its men counterparts, the Lewis-Clark State College women’s golf team features one of its deepest squad in years with 10 players on the roster. And if the preseason is any indication, the Warriors need that deep squad.

With two-time Player of the Year Cortney Shrout graduating last spring and a couple of injuries that are expected to limit two others, the Warriors will have to rely on their youth to be successful this season.

Seven of the 10 players are either sophomores or freshmen and with injuries to sophomore Heather Bruce and senior Brittney Wheeler, at least one freshman will have to step into a varsity role immediately.

Bruce, the conference’s Freshman of the Year last season and a second-team all-conference selection, is the likely choice to take over the top spot for the women’s team. But she will miss at least the first semester after recovering from surgery on both of her calves.

Wheeler has been bothered by a back injury from her freshman season and her status for the season is likely to be day-to-day.

That leaves Alana Norris and Jordan Knapp as the team’s lone two seniors. Norris has played on the varsity the three previous seasons and was the conference’s Freshman of the Year in 2008. Both Warrior head coach Paul Thompson and assistant coach Cliff Carrick, who serves as the women’s coach, believe Norris could be in for a big year.

Knapp has been back and forth on the varsity throughout her four years and started to come on at the end of last season. She had rounds of 83 and 85 during the final conference tournament last year.

The other key returner for the Warriors is sophomore Kelsey Haycock, who was on the varsity’s top five last season. She’ll be joined by Shanna Herman and Idah Whisenant, two of the most improved players from a year ago. Herman is a freshman while Whisenant redshirted last season and is still a freshman, eligibility-wise.

"We look for them to step up and help us," Thompson said. "Our sophomore and freshmen classes will have to help us."

The freshmen class includes Jennifer Sorensen, Kelsey Dutton, and Brooke Dagner.

"We think all three could be playing varsity and helping us through the year at some point," Thompson said. "But we really don’t have anyone at this point who has stepped up to be our No. 1 golfer."

Thompson said the women’s season will be geared toward the conference’s postseason tournament when the berth to the national tournament is decided. Thompson said his teams used to be able to rely upon being ranked in the NAIA poll to earn an at-large berth to the national tournament, but that changed a year ago when the field was reduced.

With the injuries and unknowns facing the women’s team, the Warriors will try to peak at the right time, especially if it hopes to make it back to the NAIA national tournament. Last year, Shrout qualified for the tournament, but the Warriors missed out for the first time in six years as a team.