Sweet Home’s golfers showed improvement last week, despite continued adverse conditions.
The girls played in “horrible” conditions at Tokatee in Cottage Grove on Monday, April 25, which was shortened to nine holes because of the weather, Coach Pat Davis said.
“We decided to scramble them to speed up play.”
Sweet Home’s Haley May and Nicole Grady paired up and won the event over five other teams with a 44. Freshmen Lexi Schilling and Brook Womach shot a 54.
“It rained hard the whole time they were out there,” Davis said.
The girls also played Thursday, May 20, at Chinook Winds, where May shot an 87, her first time to break 90, and finished fourth in a match that included most of the district, Davis said.
Alayna Davis shot a 111, and Schilling, Womach and Gracy finished in the “mid-130s,” Pat Davis said.
“There were big improvements for both,” he said of May and his daughter.
The girls will play May 1 at Santiam Golf Club in Stayton in the District Preview, before teeing up for the real thing on May 8-9.
The boys played April 19 at Agate Beach in Newport, finishing fifth out of eight teams.
Jake Hindmarsh carded an 88, while Seth Wright shot 94 and Travis Thorpe finished with a 96.
Carson Smith shot 112 to give them a team total of 390, their first time below 400 this year.
“That’s still 40 shots out of contention for state,” Davis said, noting that Jackson Lynn was missing from the line-up.
“I can’t get all five of my top guys to go on the same day.”
All of his varsity golfers and those hovering on the edges are juniors or younger, which means they will all be back this year, and he said they are all progressing.
“We’re seeing big steps forward by boys and girls.”
A a JV meet in Wilsonville last week, freshman Peyton Ulrich was the winner for the second time this year in a JV event, carding a 92 on a par-62 course.
The varsity boys will play Thursday in a league match at Diamond Woods and then will wrap up their regular season May 4 at Big Meadow at Black Butte.