Sterling boys golf could hardly have asked for a better state tournament in Elizabeth this week.

Through the state's top Class 3A competition, the Tigers boasted not one but two top-10 individual finishes that vaulted the team to a third-place tie with Vail Mountain. The two schools collected 456 cumulative strokes as Sterling managed to close the gap on their mountainous competitors on day two.

The Tigers couldn't have done it without Jace Wright and Tayleb Schaefer.

Wright ended the first day of the two-day competition tied for 19th in a field of 84 golfers after putting up 77 strokes, but the Sterling star made pivotal moves through his second round of play. He dropped six strokes on day two, and just two other golfers played better than him on that Tuesday with 70 strokes to his 71.

That performance, coupled with his day one result, skyrocketed Wright to a sixth-place tie with Vail Mountain's Tiki Jaffe and Lutheran's A.J. Papajohn and a score of 148.

His teammate, Schaefer, had a bit of reverse fortunes. Schaefer tied for the third-best performance on day one with a score of 73, a mark which four other boys matched. He faltered, only slightly, in his second round as he shot a 76 to bring his overall total to 149. The three-way tie for sixth place, however, placed him squarely at ninth.

Dylan DiOrio and Ryder McConnell rounded out the Tigers' efforts with ties at 29th and 50th as DiOrio shot 159 and McConnell shot 168.

Reagan Fehringer, one of the leading pitchers in the state, led Sterling to a 10-0 victory over Valley at home Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. (OTSPORTSCHEK/Joe Skerjanec)

Sterling softball keeping up the heat

Sterling softball entered this week ranked No. 5 in CHSAANow.com's Class 3A rankings, and the Tigers have shown that they deserve that high esteem with nearly every game they play.

The Tigers have won 17 games through 22 tries as their only five losses have come against No. 3 University, No. 2 Eaton and Class 4A's No. 8 Roosevelt, as well as Nebraska's Scottsbluff. Most recently, they defeated 3A's 10th-ranked Brush by a 9-5 score before taking down Valley in a 10-0 final through five innings.