Sweet Home’s boys golf season ended Tuesday, May 10, at Tokatee golf course in the Sky-Em League district tournament in Blue River.
None of the Huskies qualified for state and even though league favorite Junction City was disqualified after one of its players, who was leading the tournament as an individual, Their was disqualified for signing an incorrect score card, which left the Tigers with an incomplete team, eliminating them from the competition.
Coach Tom Horn said his squad didn’t play as well as they were expected to on Day 1 and that slow start took the Huskies out of the race, even though they did better on the second day.
With Junction City out, Sisters took the team title with a two-day score of 358-357-715, while Cottage Grove was the second state qualifier out of the league with a 373-361-732. Sweet Home was third (383-371-754) and La Pine fourth (476-450-926).
Cody Daniels was the Huskies’ top individual finisher, tied for eighth, while Mike Fontenot was 10th.
Fontenot led Sweet Home with a 91 on Day 1, while Daniels shot the day’s lowest back nine, a 41, to finish with a 94, tied with Roman Kinney. Jason Rice shot 104 and Casey Horner 110.
Horn said the Huskies improved their consistency on the back nine, although Kinney actually did better on the front half.
Day 2 was “a beautiful day” and Daniels responded, shooting an 87, which put him in contention for a state berth and was his second-lowest score in two years of playing for Sweet Home. He finished with a 181 for the two days.
Fontenot was second for Sweet Home, with a 91, for a total of 182, followed by Kinney (97-182), Rice (94-191) and freshman Michael Tolle, who shot a 104.
Both Daniels and Fontenot were named to the All-League Second Team.
“The season didn’t go as expected,” said Horn, who said in March that the Huskies had a good chance to make state. “But it was an enjoyable time with great kids.”
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Sweet Home had two girls play in the Sky-Em girls district tournament at Quail Run in La Pine.
Though the Huskies were out of the team race, since they did not have four players, it was a chance for Alaina Long and Lindsey Martin, both rookies, to experience the league tournament.
Long shot 141-117 to finish with a 258, while Martin finished 144-122 for a 266.
“There’s been great improvement from those two,” Horn said. “They are first-year players. I’m looking for more from those two. They are excellent young ladies.”