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Holmen High School's boys golf team entered last year's Division 1 regionals as a favorite to advance to sectionals, but an illness sustained by then No. 2 player Billy Pearse helped keep Holmen from advancing as a team. The Vikings put that behind them Tuesday the Reedsburg Country Club, shooting a 30-over-par 159-159-318 to finish 14 shots clear of fifth-place Baraboo and advance to Tuesday's 9 a.m. Division 1 sectional at The Meadows of Six Mile Creek in Waunakee.

“I'm happy we got through, and we shot a plenty respectable score, but we still could have cut 10 more strokes off the team score, though,” HHS head coach Paul Laxton said. “We didn't play as well as we could have and the final four holes (7-over 87) got us again.”

Pearse played Tuesday and shot 10-over 41-41-82, but No. 4 player Sam Kube continued his late-season surge with his club's best score of 5-over 37-40-77. The junior carded team-highs of 11 pars and two birdies, including two 4-hole stretches of play in which he was 1-under par.

The first stretch came from the 3rd through 6th holes, including a birdie on the par-4 5th hole. The second came near the close of Kube's round, including a birdie on the par-3 15 hole in a 1-under stretch from No. 14 through No. 17.

“Sam is hitting the ball well right now,” Laxton said. “He's also scrambling well, and getting up and down when he needs to.”

No. 3 player James DeBoer had Holmen's second score at 7-over 41-38-79, including 11 pars and a birdie on the par-4 17th hole. DeBoer overcame having to take an unplayable lie on the par-5 4th hole, running off a string of eight straight pars on the 7th through 14th holes.

Brandon Temte had the Vikings third score at 8-over 40-40-80, including six pars and birdies on the par-3 3rd and par-5 11th holes. Pearse had 10 pars and a birdie on the 3rd hole. Ben Williams had 10 pars, but his 42-41-83 was thrown out.

“Our other three players other than Sam and James had putting woes,” Laxton said Tuesday night. “We haven't thrown our best round in yet all year.

“Billy and Brandon are definitely due for that type of round. Those two are probably already hitting balls or working on some other part of their game.”

Advancing to the sectional from the Middleton regional were Madison Memorial, Madison West, Middleton and Verona. Memorial shot a 10-over 298 at Pleasant View in Middleton, which measures between 6,500 and 6,600 from the back tees, according to the courses website. West followed at 304, followed by Middleton at 309 and Verona at 315.

“The course was built in a swamp,” Laxton said of The Meadows at Six Mile Creek. “There is water on 15 holes. If we play it all the way back it'll probably be 6,900 yards, but the mid-range is probably 6,600.

“If it's windy the scores could be real high. But it's also a fairly wide open course off the tee boxes.”

Holmen last saw Middleton at the Whitefish Bay Invitational, with the Cardinals shooting 326, six shots better than the Vikings, that day. Memorial is ranked fourth in Division 1 by the Wisconsin High School Golf Coaches Association, one spot behind Onalaska. HHS and Reedsburg are receiving honorable mention in the poll.

Holmen completed its regular season by winning its home invite May 15 at Drugan's Castle Mound Country Club.