Parkland’s golf season officially came to an end just over two weeks ago. And although none of the Trojan golfers advanced to the PIAA Regional qualifier, there was plenty of positive play at the District 11 Golf Championships.

Kevin Zimmerman led all Trojan participants with a round of 88 at districts to earn a 16th place finish back on October 10 at Locust Valley Golf Club. Alec Cwienkala (91) finished close behind in a tie for 20th and Ben Hembel (98) came in 28th.

For Zimmerman, his round at districts ended a solid high school golf career that he won’t soon forget.

“I had not been to districts,” Zimmerman said. “Last season, I earned my way to district qualifying and did place in the top half to continue further. However, I was not too disappointed since the competition in our league is extremely tight and is filled with some of the top golfers in the Lehigh Valley.”

In his first trip to districts, Zimmerman wasn’t quite sure what to expect. He wanted to stay focused and try for his best round of the season. If that resulted in a top-six finish and a trip to regionals, he surely would have taken it.

“Just to play as well as a I can, keep a positive attitude, and make as few mistakes as possible,” Zimmerman said of his goals. “I knew I would have to play as well as I could and as shard as I could to move on.

“I struck the ball well and gave myself opportunities to shoot well. I hit plenty of fairways and greens, and even rolled good puts. The scoring just wasn’t there.”

Along with Zimmerman, Cwienkala has been one of the Trojans’ top golfers all season. Also a senior, he would have liked to see his golf career extend into regionals with the potential to qualify for the state meet. Instead, he was left a bit disappointed as he walked away from Locust Valley.

“I had a rough round [at districts], as my game was not very sharp all-around,” Cwienkala said. “I did not hit very many fairways and had a lot of putts.

“My goal going in was to finish in the top eight and go to regionals.”

The struggles started early for Cwienkala at the challenging district-qualifying course, and he was never able to recover. A total of 11 bogeys and four double-bogeys dropped him outside the top and further away from a regional-qualifying spot.

“My round started off very slow and I never quite hit my stride,” Cwienkala said. “I struggled all day to hit greens and make pars.”

“That course is challenging as it is very narrow. The course also played hard due to the conditions. It was very windy and cold during the round.”

The upcoming fall months and winter season is a chance for many golfers to take a break in action before getting ready for next season. Cwienkala will do the same and plans to come back even better come spring and summer.

“This season has been very special to me as it’s my final season,” Cwienkala said. “I have had a lot of fun with all of my teammates and have made memories that I will never forget.”