Chet Peterson left some pretty big shoes to fill, and Tucker Kadlec stepped right in as he won the Lake Region Conference boys’ golf individual championship Thursday at Rolling Hills Golf Course.

Kadlec walked away with the LRC title after taking second last year, falling to his teammate, Peterson.

“It feels good, but my teammate Chet Peterson won it last year, so I didn’t feel that bad. And it was a good day,” said Kadlec. “It’s a little more pressure because I could usually rely on Chet to get a good score and we can place as a team. But I feel like I have to golf good every time now.”

Since Rolling Hills is only a 9-hole course, golfers get at look at each hole twice during their round. Each golfer had a different approach, and Kadlec got off to a fast start to set him up for success.

“Driving was good. Hit most of the fairways and then ended up the first nine one under, and then I kind of fell apart the last two holes. Shot seven over on the back,” Kadlec said. “I felt comfortable on the back nine and I’d be okay with a bogey every once in a while.”

Anika Mueller of Faulkton was the medalist on the girls’ side and used the familiarity of the course to her advantage.

“I feel like I know where to hit and where I need to avoid hitting,” Mueller said. “And that definitely helped with the back nine for sure.”

Warner edged Faulkton for the boys’ team title, winning a two-hole playoff after each squad finished with identical totals of 275. Faulkton captured the girls’ team crown.

Aberdeen Christian’s Ellis Russell noticed that he felt more warmed up on the back nine, which helped him cut off one stroke from his front nine.

“It may be only a little bit more different because you’re loose, you’re warmed up,” Russell said. “You can maybe be a little more aggressive on the back nine.”

With it being the opening tournament of the year for the Knights, Christian coach Tyler Pridey knew his guys had rust to knock off for the upcoming season.

“Well, you gotta get the winter golf swing jitters out of the way,” said Pridey. “So, to have conference as your first meet, I wouldn’t call it a challenge … but it affects things a little bit from a pressure perspective.”

Mueller held just a two-stroke lead after the front nine and used the next three holes on the back nine to give herself a five-stroke lead ahead of her opponents. She said that sometimes, it can be a struggle competing against the girls you’re golfing with on the same holes.

“I kind of just tell myself ‘Lock in’ and have some fun, but at the same time, I do have to take things seriously,” said Mueller. “I just need to keep pushing myself to go harder and mentally stay stable and keep pushing forward.”

Even though the weather was above par for the time of the year, the wind still played a factor in the tournament.

“If you’re not a very skilled player, you’re not a good ball striker, it takes a lot more of a thought process to play well. It gets a lot harder when you’re dealing with the elements in terms of wind direction,” Pridey said. “So, if you’re not confident in your ability already, it just adds to the whole dynamic of the day and we kind of saw it here.”

For Christian, Rolling Hills is just four minutes away, giving the Knights a little advantage compared to the rest of the competition.

“Feels pretty good. Came here last weekend and shot decent,” said Christian’s Jett Johnson. “Shot decent today, so it’s all right.”

With Russell’s senior year coming to a close, he’s left with a bittersweet feeling hitting all of the last firsts of his high school career, especially at the home course.

“It’s nice. It’s always a nice tournament here at Rolling Hills. They do a good job with the course,” said Russell. “It’s a little bittersweet, like everything this year is. Just last one, try and go out and compete and do what you can do.”

For Kadlec, who is also a senior, he was finally able to put a tournament win under his belt, which he says will help him for the remainder of the season.

“You know, it feels good. I’ve been waiting a while for this. I was always behind Chet Peterson last year and it’s just good to have a win now,” said Kadlec. “I feel more confident in myself now. With my driver, everything else, just more confident.”

Although Anika Mueller won the LRC, she knows that the next hole is the most important one.

“I think I just need to keep my head held high, because I’m gonna have bad shots here and there,” said Mueller. “But I know that I just gotta keep pushing forward and there’s nothing you can do about a past shot.”

BOYS’ DIVISION

Team Points: Warner 275 (won two-hole playoff), Faulkton 275, Ipswich 288, Langford Area 320, Frederick 322, Leola 432.

Individual Results

1, Tucker Kadlec, Ipswich, 76; 2, Hayden Liebl, Warner, 80; 3, Trey Machtemes, Faulkton, 88; 4, Drake Mueller, Faulkton, 90; 5, Blake Bjorgaard, Warner, 92; 6, Ellis Russell, Aberdeen Christian, 95; 7, Bradyn Small, Langford Area, 97; 8, Henry Bossly, Faulkton, 97; 9 Nate Bass, Ipswich, 98; 10, Landon Dikoff, Faulkton, 101;

11, Westyn Thorpe, Frederick, 101; 12, Michael Bjorgaard, Warner, 103; 13, Jett Johnson, Aberdeen Christian, 108; 14, Rennan Bruns, Langford Area, 109; 15, Brayden Heuer, Frederick, 110; 16, Noah Kippley, Frederick, 111; 17, Ben Hoyle, Ipswich, 114; 18, Conner Glines, Langford Area, 114; 19, Gavin Nickelson, Frederick, 116; 20, Teigan McKown, Warner, 117;

21, Ryder Wilbourn, Leola, 122; 22, Dawson Vander Vorst, Langford Area, 127; 23, Sean Ketterling, Leola, 130; 24, Gabe Ketterling, Leola, 180.

GIRLS’ DIVISION

Team Points: Faulkton 327, Leola 374, Frederick 400.

Individual Results

1, Anika Mueller, Faulkton, 97; 2, Ellis Johnson, Warner, 101; 3, Mollie Simon, Ipswich, 102; 4, Grace Kopecky, Faulkton, 114; 5, Ruby Dallmann, Frederick, 115; 6, Brooklyn Kast, Faulkton, 116; 7, Teagan Weiszhaar, Leola, 117; 8, Amelia Johnson, Warner; 9, Ashtyn Hatlewick, Leola, 122; 10, Raegan Geditz, Faulkton, 127;

11, Alivia Little, Frederick, 133; 12, Nala Hanson, Leola, 135; 13, Shaina Kleeman, Langford, 143; 14, Addison Wolbeck, Frederick, 152.