NORTHEAST MEN’S GOLF READIES FOR EXCITING SPRING SEASON BEGINNING IN ARIZONA

NORFOLK, Neb. – The No. 10 Northeast Community College men's golf team finds themselves ranked tenth in the nation after a solid fall season and is ready to hit the ground running for their spring campaign. The first of six spring events for the Hawks will take place on Monday and Tuesday at Palm Valley Golf Club in Goodyear, Arizona as part of the Maverick Desert Classic.

Ty Heimes is in his third season at the helm of the Hawks and is thrilled with what he has seen so far from the team that he has assembled.

"We have a lot of talented freshmen that worked pretty hard this winter," Heimes said. "We're hoping they make a big step. We also have a lot of sophomore leaders who worked hard in the winter as well and I'm excited to watch our entire group get their seasons started."

The fall portion of the schedule for Northeast got started with a bang as freshman Luke Bonser (Durham, England) won his first-ever event with the Hawks at Fox Run Golf Course in Yankton, South Dakota as part of the Mount Marty Invitational while the team as a whole finished second. Heimes is looking forward to see his freshman back on the course this spring.

"I think Luke Bonser and Jacob Harnden (Cobourg, Canada) will have big years," Heimes said. "They did a really good job in the fall and I think they are going to build off of that. They have a lot of talent and they will keep improving."

Aside from Bonser and Harnden, Heimes feels as if his team is deep from top to bottom.

"We have a bunch of guys who have pretty even scores, and I'm sure that a few of them will breakout to help us along the way," Heimes said.

There was a lot to like from fall season, but Heimes says that experience was more important than anything else.

"The biggest thing is the freshman were able to get competitive rounds," Heimes said. "We have a couple of guys who haven't played in a lot of tournaments, so getting them in more tournaments and getting them adjusted to the difference of high school compared to college is important. We will again play as many tournaments as we can this spring to get them ready for the district tournament."

Speaking of tournaments, the Hawks will get things going in sunny Goodyear, Arizona this week, which Heimes is looking forward to.

"It's a good recruiting tool for our program," Heimes said. "Getting to go down south during spring break, playing good competition, playing a nice course and having nice weather are all important things. I'm excited to watch the guys compete in their first tournament of the spring and I know that they are eager to get after it."

With a full season ahead before the tournament that qualifies teams for the national tournament, what is Heimes' message to his group to get through the spring months?

"Keep practicing," Heimes said. "I feel like we have good work ethics within our team, so it's important that we don't get too wrapped up in the results of individual tournaments and focus on getting better every day. We want to play our best golf at the right time."

The North Central District Tournament will take place not far from the Northeast campus at Whispering Creek in Sioux City, Iowa, which gave the Hawks an opportunity to practice the district course, and Heimes is delighted to compete relatively close to home.

"That will be exciting," Heimes said. "Obviously, we have a lot of season left before that tournament, but it was nice to get out to that course to the fall and allow our guys to get familiar with it. I think it will be a good course for us. We have a lot of work to do before then, so we will just be fine-tuning things before May."

At the end of the day, Heimes and his team have one thing on their minds.

"Our goal is always to get to nationals," Heimes said. "Top three in our district gets that done. Our guys have some pretty lofty goals individually and as a team, so we're looking to play our best golf at the end of the season. We're looking forward to seeing what we can do."

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