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SHS girls golf tied for first after day 1 of state

by DYLAN GREENE
Sports Editor | May 17, 2021 7:40 PM

POST FALLS — History could be made at The Links Golf Club on Tuesday.

The Sandpoint girls golf team sits in a tie for first with Bishop Kelly after day one of the 4A state tournament. If the girls pull out a victory on Tuesday, they would capture their first state title in school history.

The Knights and Bulldogs currently have a team score of 358 while Twin Falls, who has won three of the last four state titles, sits five strokes behind them in third.

Conditions weren't ideal on Monday as blustery winds and tough pin positions tested the patience and precision of all the golfers.

Head coach Mike Deprez said it played like a true links style golf course.

"Everyone had their challenges out there," he said.

Given that, Deprez feels the girls have a great chance of grabbing all the glory on the final day of state.

"It's not as if everyone played their career best round and we're tied for first," he said, "there's room for improvement and we just ultimately need to take advantage of that and improve on today's scores because I'm sure everyone else is going to try to do the same thing."

Hattie Larson led the way for the girls on day one. She carded an 84 (+11) and is currently in a tie for seventh, eight strokes off the lead. It was her lowest round at a tournament this year.

"Showing her competitive nature, she was still disappointed with it, but for me it's great," Deprez said about Larson. "You're showing me the right trends."

Camille Neuder sits in a tie for 13th with a 90, and CeCe Deprez and Annaby Kanning each shot a 92 on day one. Freshman Audrey Sheffler finished with a 114.

Deprez said the girls are feeling good about where they're at.

"I think both CeCe and Hattie feel they can improve significantly on their first rounds," he said, " and I think Annaby and Camille feel they let a few shots get away, but overall they were pretty happy with their rounds because of the conditions out there."

The Sandpoint boys entered the tournament with no prior state experience, but they didn't show any jitters on Monday.

With a team score of 352, the Bulldogs are in a tie with Nampa for seventh. They are just nine strokes behind fourth place Century. If the boys can find their way to fourth by the end of the second round, they would earn their first ever trophy at state.

Harley Wilks and Dawson Owens each shot an 85 on day one and are tied for 23rd. Darren Bailey and Jake Samuels carded a 91 and Connor Bird recorded a 96.

Deprez thought all the boys were steady on the first day, and he was particularly impressed with Wilks' round.

"I really like to see resiliency out there and what I saw out of Harley today was that," he said. "Whenever the bad break happened, he did not let that be a tipping point for his round."

The final day of the 4A state tournament tees off at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Deprez said the team knows what they have to do to reach their goals, he just wants them to be patient on the course and take their time on every shot.

"We want to drive home 18 holes of that," he said.

4A state tournament

The Links Golf Club

Par 73

Day 1

GIRLS

TEAM SCORES — T1, Bishop Kelly & Sandpoint, 358. 3, Twin Falls, 363. 4, Century, 369. 5, Minico, 374. 6, Skyline, 390. 7, Hillcrest, 398. 8, Middleton, 419. 9, Canyon Ridge, 425. 10, Ridgevue, 461.

SANDPOINT — Hattie Larson 84, CeCe Deprez 92, Camille Neuder 90, Annaby Kanning 92, Audrey Sheffler 114.

BOYS

TEAM SCORES — 1, Twin Falls, 311. 2, Middleton, 313. 3, Shelley, 336. 4, Century, 343. 5, Skyline, 346. 6, Bishop Kelly, 349. T7, Nampa & Sandpoint, 352. 9, Jerome, 362. 10, Canyon Ridge, 367.

SANDPOINT — Harley Wilks 85, Dawson Owens 85, Darren Bailey 91, Jake Samuels 91, Connor Bird 96.