As his teammates hit shots behind him on the Bear Creek Country Club driving range in Woodinville on Monday afternoon, Redmond High sophomore golfer Sean Kato noted that the Mustangs have the talent and drive to make an impact in league and the postseason this year.

He’s spot on so far, as Redmond bolted out to a 3-1 record in 4A Kingco at press time following Tuesday’s four-stroke victory over Skyline. Kato notched his third medalist placing this season with a 35 during the nine-hole contest.

Kato — who qualified for state last season — admitted to struggling a bit early on, but he persevered and found his swing the weekend before Redmond’s match against Issaquah. He medaled with a 33 and “since then, I’ve been playing some really good golf, and I hope I can keep that up for the rest of the year,” he said.

Other medalists this year for the Mustangs (5-2 overall) are sophomore Conner Golembeski (35 against Eastlake) and junior Michael Cummings (38 against Overlake). Both those golfers, along with Kato, sophomore Dylan Howe and senior Liam Jaffe are returners who competed at districts last season.

Kato, who took second at districts and then finished tied for 25th at state, said the key to success is “you just gotta keep grinding every day and getting better every day.”

Another top returner is senior Jack Heine, who was sidelined his junior year with a broken left index finger that he sustained while playing football in PE class the day of the team’s first golf match.

“Unfortunately, there’s no good story. Just messing around and got too aggressive,” said Heine, who qualified for districts as a sophomore. “Now I feel really good and I’m excited for the rest of the season. We have such a deep team this year that we have a good chance of winning a lot of matches.”

Heine said his strengths are his short game and putting. On the mental front, the senior and his teammates also adhere to coach Dan Pudwill’s advice: “If you don’t hit a good shot, move on past it and attack a hole” to save your round. Pudwill added that he encourages his golfers to maximize their practice time so they can handle the stress that comes with 4A Kingco matches.

Fourth-year Mustang Jaffe qualified for districts the last two years and said that although golf is known as mainly an individual sport, he enjoys working as a team to earn success.

“I wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t fun,” said Jaffe, noting that he likes the challenge of tackling the course for nine holes and coming away with a good score at the end of the day.

Golembeski said that spending time with some of his best friends is one of the benefits of playing Redmond High golf.

The sophomore, who’s been golfing nearly his whole life, has a good mental game to pair with his hitting and putting experience.

If things get tough on the course, he notes: “You can’t be perfect. No one’s even come close to being perfect, so you can just always (get) better.”