Area golfers eyeing state championships after first round
The first round of the state tournament in all four classes of high schools was played on Monday, and when the last ball fell into the cup, several area golfers were still in contention for the top spots in their classes. Three teams, Central, North County and Valle, represented the MAAA at state along with individual players from Potosi, West County and Fredericktown.
CLASS 3
BOLIVAR – The North County Raiders are in the hunt as they finished Monday’s round only 10 strokes off the pace with a fourth-place score of 317. Ozark is in first at 307, Country Day is second at 310, Republic is third at 313, and Clinton is in fifth place at 322.
The top score for Day One was a 70 for Brian Williams of Excelsior Springs. Fredericktown’s Kevin Foster was the nearest MAAA representative for the individual championship with a score of 76 tied with seven other golfers for fifth place.
Adam Lotz was North County’s low man for Monday and was only one stroke back of Foster, but tied for 13th place with four golfers, including Potosi’s Brett DeClue, at 77.
North County’s Jacob Goeller was tied for 18th with a score of 78, Jared Lotz was tied for 34th place at 80, and Brandon Smith, tied for 42nd place, shot an 82 to round out the Raiders’ team score. Jake Black was tied for 98th place with an 89.
The 123 Class 3 golfers will be back on the Silo Ridge Golf and Country Club to play their final round of 18 holes today on the par 72 course.
CLASS 2
SPRINGFIELD – The Central Rebels did not fare too well on opening day. The Rebels, in 15th place at 344, are 38 strokes behind the leader, Mount Vernon (306). Pembroke Hill is in second place at 313.
Keith Huff was low man for the Rebels with a score of 83 on the par 70, Bill & Payne Stewart Golf Course to place him in a nine-way tie for 56th place. Robert Arcand was next at 85, good enough to tie for 74th with nine other golfers. Grayson Clark and Jimmy Guinn shot a pair of 88’s and were tied for the 93rd spot. Scott Marler’s shot 97, but his score was not needed for Central’s team score.
Chris Crocker of West County rolled in his last putt to give him an 88 for the day.
CLASS 1
SPRINGFIELD – For MAAA teams, Valle came the closest to the top after the first round. The Warriors, with a score of 333, are currently in second place in the Class 1 tournament played at the par 72, Deer Lake Golf Course in Springfield. However, it will be an uphill battle since the Warriors trail Salisbury by 19 strokes at 314. Tipton is in third at 341, and Gallatin and Van-Far are tied for fourth at 342.
Valle’s Patrick Odneal is currently in third place and has a great shot at the individual championship being only two strokes back with a three-over par 75. Odneal is tied with Scott Backes of Tipton. Case Ruckman of Albany is in first at 73, and Gabe George is in second at 74
Valle’s next low score belongs to Jason Grass at only six strokes back with a 79 and tied for 11th place. Kolby Armbruster shot an 89 for Valle to tie for 51st place, and Sean Odneal was one back in 56th place at 90 to make up Valle’s team score. Keith Basler was tied for 76th place with a 95 on the day.
There are 121 golfers in all with only 16 teams vying for the team championship. The second and final round is being played today.
CLASS 4
SPRINGFIELD – Even though there were no representatives from the MAAA conference in the Class 4 tournament, it would have been a very tough day for any area golfers as Justin Bardgett of Chaminade mastered the par 72 Rivercut Golf Course with a five-under par 67 on the day. His low score gave his team a score of 292, only one-stroke ahead of Rockhurst. Four golfers were four strokes back at one-under, one of which was Zach Pranger, Bardgett’s teammate.
