A ton of lofty goals and excitations surround the Knoxville Boys Golf Squad this season. The Panthers are coming off a 6th place finish at the class 3A State Meet last year and with only one graduation, the Panthers look to make even better results this spring. Coach Barry Smith is tempering expectations surrounding the squad by not putting the weight of the world on their shoulders and beefing up the schedule a bit. He says there will be more invitationals on the schedule including a quad meet in Cedar Rapids near the end of the regular season involving defending class 3A champion Gilbert, plus other top 3A teams including Solon and Waverly-Shell Rock.

Smith: “It’s kind of a unique opportunity that came from how we did last year. Needless to say the competition in that meet is going to be extreme. But it will show us where we need to be and what we may have to do to improve that 6th place finish we had from State.”

The Panthers will again be led by Evan Smith…who is coming off a top ten finish at state last year. Knoxville will also see rival Pella several times this year. Also on varsity will be Carson Uitermarkt, Beau Leisure, and Kail Arkama. Smith says the final spots are still being worked out. The Panthers get their season started Tuesday with a home triangular against Clarke and West Central Valley.