Reeves, McDonnell lead Bulldogs to district golf championships
—Photo by BILL HAWKINS Pictured from left to right are the Bulldog boys and girls 2016 district golf champions: Lake Wilks, Jacob Humrich, Nick Crowley, Damien Fitzpatrick, Jack Reeves, Ali Creighton, Maddy Albertson, Caroline Hawkins, Nina McDonnell and Hannah Hurst. All 10 players will compete in state next week for the first time in a long time, if not ever.
MOSCOW — It was a banner day for Sandpoint golf on Monday at the 4A Region 1 golf tournament at the University of Idaho Course, as both the boys and girls teams nabbed district championships, with each punching their ticket to the 4A state golf tournament next week with the automatic team berths.
Jack Reeves was on fire to lead the Bulldog boys, carding a career-low one-under par 71 to lead the boys team to a score of 344, comfortably ahead of Lakeland and Moscow. Damien Fitzpatrick shot 87 and Nick Crowley 94 for the Bulldogs, who battled through extremely windy conditions, making Reeves’ 71 all the more impressive.
“It was just brutal, with 35 to 40 mile per hour winds for about three-quarters of the round, so the scores were high,” described Bulldogs head coach Tom Tharp, whose team is almost entirely underclassmen. “Our kids hung in there and didn’t let the weather bother them.”
Nina McDonnell picked the perfect time to get hot, carding a career-low 86, the lone Bulldog girl to break 100 on a difficult day. Ali Creighton shot 101 and Hannah Hurst 105 both had rock-solid rounds, and every stroke counted, as the Bulldogs won the team title by a mere point over Moscow.
It was the only time all season the Bulldogs beat the Bears, and it came at the most opportune time and was a testament to some mental toughness.
“We played extremely well considering the conditions,” said Tharp, who has done a stellar job guiding the team. “We’re go excited to be going to state.”
The 4A state tournament is next Monday and Tuesday at Falcon Crest Golf Course in Kuna.
At the University of Idaho course
Par 72
BOYS
TEAM SCORES (winner to state) — 1, Sandpoint 344. 2, Moscow 370. 3, Lakeland 376.
INDIVIDUAL STATE QUALIFIERS — 1, Jack Reeves, Sandpoint, 71. 2, Kevin Eng, Moscow, 82. 3, Damien Fitzpatrick, Sandpoint, 87.
SANDPOINT — Jack Reeves 71, Nick Crowley 92, Damien Fitzpatrick 87, Lake Wilks 94, Jacob Humrich 108.
MOSCOW — Kevin Eng 82, Johan Boll 95, Will Murphy 90, Jake Nielson 132, Cullen Burke 103.
LAKELAND — Andrew Knight 89, Dylan Knight 89, Ashton Waddington 97, Cole Tingey 101, Matt Johnson 110.
GIRLS
TEAM SCORES (winner to state) — 1, Sandpoint 398. 2, Moscow 399. 3, Lakeland 407.
INDIVIDUAL STATE QUALIFIERS — 1, Makena Rauch, Moscow, 84. 2, Nina McDonnell, Sandpoint, 86. 3, McKenzie Roth, Lakeland, 95.
SANDPOINT — Caroline Hawkins 106, Alexis Creighton 101, Nina McDonnell 86, Hanna Hurst 105, Maddy Albertson 125.
MOSCOW — Makena Rauch 84, Sarah Thorsteinson 105, Karson Jensen 106, Ally Loomis 106, Anna Curet 104.
LAKELAND — Sydney Suko 109, Madeline Neff 107, Monica Higbee 96, McKenzie Roth 95, Rachel Rager 125.