The Mid-Prairie boys and girls golf teams are scheduled to hit the course for the first time in 2019 when they take on Iowa City Regina in a pair of River Valley Conference duals Monday.

The Golden Hawk girls will travel to Pleasant Valley Golf Course South of Iowa City to meet the Regals while the Golden Hawk boys get Regina on their home turf in Kalona.

Last season the Golden Hawk boys advanced to the district round of the postseason with a third place finish in the sectional tournament. At districts, the Hawks were fifth in the team race, falling short of state. Mid-Prairie finished third in the RVC a season ago with a 344 team score. The Hawks were led last season by Elite All-Conference team member Noah Schlabaugh and honorable mention members Collin Gingerich and Ryan Slaubaugh. Mid-Prairie returns their number one from last season in Noah Schlabaugh. His nine hole scoring average of 39 a year ago, led the River Valley. The Hawks also return key pieces in Chaz Patterson, Monte Slabaugh and Ryan Smit. This week, Mid-Prairie head boys coach Kelby Bender talked about this year’s team. “With the way the weather has been we are so thankful to have the indoor facility. It has allowed us to get in, work on some things, and get a club back in their hands. The kids are ready to get out on the course. Noah Schlabaugh returns as our No. 1 from last year. He was sectional medalist. Ryan Smit had a nice season last year. We are looking for him to get better and be more consistent. Monte Slabaugh will also be a key contributor as a returner.”

A season ago the Mid-Prairie girls were River Valley Conference champions, winning their first title since 2013. Paige Slabaugh was individual conference runner-up. In the postseason, the Hawks moved through regionals as team runners-up and saw Slabaugh advance to state as an individual while the rest of the team wrapped up the year in the regional finals. While Slabaugh led the way for the Hawks a season ago with her team best 46-nine-hole-average, Mid-Prairie returns Abbi Patterson, Abby Statler, Emma Mattes, Georgia Nisly, Kendra Schaefer, Mikenzie Bontrager, Alison Yoder and Amerha Rediger, all who saw varsity time last season.

Both meets start at 4p.m. and continue into the evening at the Pleasant Valley and Kalona Golf Courses.