• 4A West Regionals is this weekend in Riverton
The SVHS golf teams were in Rock Springs this past weekend at White Mountain Golf Course for a meet that didn’t just include some of the traditional rivals from western Wyoming but also Cheyenne Central and Cheyenne East in what could be considered a glimpse into a few state event players.
Star Valley put together one of their best outings in what has already been a very good season as the Braves won the team title and claimed three of the top three shooters of the tournament. Deegan Hill notched another tournament win with an impressive score of 146 that included an opening round of 71. Daltyn DeCora was fifth with a 153 and Braxton Johnson was sixth with a 154.
“For the first time in at least over 20 years, the SVHS boys team has won the Rock Springs Invitational,” stated head coach Kelly Fullmer. “We have been waiting for our boys to all play well together on the same day, and we got a recorded a good showing with that on day two with Deegan Hill 75, Daltyn DeCora 75, Braxton Johnson 76, and Wyatt Pack 76. The previous day Hill shot 71. He would hold on to win the tournament. The course always plays tough amidst the surrounding desert, the wind was up, and one of the east side’s better teams was there in the Central Indians. So I thought it was a statement win that put the rest of the state on notice that we can compete for a title in Evanston this season. There are teams shooting scores as good as ours, but none better. That’s a nice feeling heading into the post season.”
On the girls side, Central won the tournament with Star Valley placing second. Kemmerer’s Tazlyn Wagner and Central’s Bella Beach both shot a 151 to lead the girls pack. Star Valley’s top score came from Kate Ricks who shot a 182 to place seventh. Paylan Merritt and Presley Frome each shot a 195 to finish 10th and 11th respectively.
The Wyoming high school golf season is a sprint and the season is now winding down with the 4A West Regionals taking place this Thursday and Friday. Teams in the 4A classification have to qualify as one of the top four in their conference. Not only should both Star Valley teams qualify but based on their body of work this season, should be fighting for podium spots in Evanston where the Purple Sage is the state course this year. The Braves in particular look poised for a very strong run with a deep team on a relatively familiar course.
The girls fought from fourth place on day one to second place on day two,” Fullmer said. “I thought the girls showed patience and perseverance to hang in there and fight. Senior Kate Ricks again led us and shot 87 on day two.
I thought all the golfers showed grit in Rock Springs. Something we haven’t seen as much so far this year as we would have liked and something that Coach Johnson and I have been harping on constantly. It takes grit to overcome adversity and stay focused, engaged, and positive over a 5 1/2 hour round. We are seeing the golfers trust their processes and continue to fight better than we have so far this year. We want to see them improve on this in Riverton and Evanston. If we do, we expect good things.”
SVHS Varsity Girls
Kate Ricks 95/87/182 (7th)
Paylan Merritt 103/92/195 (10th)
Presley Frome 96/99/195 (11th)
Averie Rivard 104/102/206
Tynlee Robinson 112/116/228
SVHS Varsity Boys
Deegan Hill 71/75/146 (1st)
Daltyn DeCora 78/75/153 (5th)
Braxton Johnson 78/76/154 (6th)
Wyatt Pack 84/76/160 (11th)
Cael Mackey 81/82/163 (20th)
Vinny Roniger 83/84/167
Kyson McCoy 88/88/176
Robinson Gordon 91/85/176
