By OLIVER GOOD

Staff writer

Hillsboro High School golfers Colin Settle and Alex Dalke placed 21 and 33, respectively, out of 48 players Friday at the Hillsboro Invitational golf tournament.

Settle shot 51 on his front nine, and came back to shot 52 on the back, to finish with 103 strokes.

Coach Scott O’Hare was pleased with Settle’s progress from the team’s first meet.

“He improved by almost 10 strokes,” O’Hare said. “Overall he had a nice round. The key with him is eliminating the ‘bad’ holes. The good thing is that he seems to recover quickly and doesn’t let them affect him for an extended period.”

Conversely, Dalke shot 59 on his first nine, and 57 on the back to finish at 116.

O’Hare said Dalke was striking the ball well in practice Thursday but wasn’t able to find a comfortable rhythm in his swing in tournament play.

“Alex had a rough start and never really recovered,” O’Hare said. “I believe right now his mental approach to the game needs the most work. He needs to find a way to battle through the highs and lows and just keep a positive attitude.”

The Trojans play next at 1 p.m. Friday at Salina Municipal Golf Course.