The Sweet Home boys golf team finished last against some stiff competition Thursday at the Sweet Home-Lebanon Invitational at Mallard Creek.
Lebanon won the team competition with a 305, with the Huskies, who were missing some key players, taking up the rear in the 10-team field with a 395.
Taylor Huschka led the Huskies with an 80. Markus Thedford was second for Sweet Home with a 99, followed by Jake Riggs (107), Nick Zahler (108) and Nick Pitts (111).
McMinnville was second in the team competition with 321, followed by South Albany and Sisters (346), Dallas (354), Mollala (357), West Salem (359), North Salem (367), Junction City (375) and the Huskies.
“We did not play our best as a team, but Taylor shot his lowest round of the year and tied for seventh,” said Coach Tom Horn. “It was a good showing – more what I expected of him this year.
Sweet Home was scheduled to play a Val-Co match Monday, April 23, at Mallard Creek, but results were unavailable at press time.
Sweet Home vs. Newport, Taft and Central at Trysting Tree
Sweet Home placed second in a four-way match Monday, April 16, at Trysting Tree.
Taft won the team competition with a 328, and the medalist for the match was the Tigers’ Kasey Jones, who finished with a 73, one stroke ahead of teammate Kelton Johnson’s 74.
The Huskies shot 359, led by Travis Ramoz’s 86, with Taylor Huschka one shot behind at 87. Nick Zahler shot 90, followed by Nick Pitts (96) and Jake Riggs (105).
Newport was third with 363 and Central did not field a complete team, but would have been a distant fourth, based on its three finishers’ scores.
“This is the first time we’ve finished ahead of Newport,” Horn noted. “If we continue to improve, there is a chance of beating them at District and going to state. The key is to improve.”
Horn credited Zahler for playing “by far his best, but still not as well as he can.”