Last week was a solid week for the Trinity Lutheran boys golf team.

The Cougars started out by shooting a 173 last Monday, which was the best score the program has posted in three years. Then on Saturday, Trinity hosted the Cougar Invitational on what was a perfect day for golf.

Head coach Doug Sabotin talked a lot about how his team focuses on the little things every day in practice, and senior Jacob Sabotin has really seen his game bloom over the past week.

Sabotin shot a 36 in Monday’s match, and then playing 18 holes on Saturday at Shadowood Golf Course, he placed third overall with a round of 79.

“We talk a lot about fundamentals and taking golf one shot at a time,” coach Sabotin said. “All of our young men have been working hard all year. We’re seeing some success for all of our golfers, but Jacob this past week, he shot a 36 on Monday and then a 79 on Saturday, so you’re starting to see some of that hard work pay off.”

Kade Hill was second for Trinity with a round of 100, followed by Preston Kovener at 110, Caleb Williams 113 and Wylie Jones 126. The Cougars posted a team score of 402, finishing sixth in the invite.

Fishers won with a team score of 320, followed by North Decatur at 337, Greenwood Christian at 339, Shelbyville at 365, Batesville at 383, Trinity had 402, Seymour’s JV squad shot a 477 and Eastern (Pekin) had a 480.

“Really proud of them,” Sabotin said. “There’s a big difference between playing nine holes than 18 holes. You have to stay mentally tough for about four to five hours. We don’t play in many 18-hole tournaments. This was only our second one of the season, so I’m proud of how the boys did. They showed up on our home course. They were good sports.”

Sabotin said the five principals Trinity prides itself on is do your best, have fun, honor God, be a good teammate and learn every day. He feels as if the Cougars displayed that on Saturday.

The five golfers Trinity trotted out there are the only five on the roster. Sabotin, Hill, Kovener and Williams are all seniors, and Jones is a freshman.

Sabotin, Hill and Williams also played soccer and basketball with each other, so this is the third sport in which they’ve been teammates.

Coach Sabotin said the small makeup of the team has allowed them all to get really close, creating solid continuity and a fun atmosphere to play out on the courses together.

“Four seniors. All four of them have been playing together all four years. Three of them play three sports together. They’re great friends, great kids, really awesome young men,” Sabotin said. “We have a new young man Wylie Jones, who’s a freshman, who the boys have welcomed with open arms, so it’s really a great team atmosphere and they have a lot of fun. The assistant Todd Jack (also head soccer coach) does a fantastic job, as well.”

Trinity will next be in action on Tuesday when they host Hauser and Jennings County back at Shadowood.

For the Seymour JV team, Braden Hinton shot a 109, Trevor Goecker shot a 116, Ethan Alberring a 122, Zack Kriete a 130, Brady Burgmeier a 137 and Jay Herbert a 138.

The Owls’ varsity team competed in the Bedford North Lawrence Invitational.