Boys golf team takes second at district

The boys golf team finished second at the district tournament held at the Tokatee Golf Course in Blue River May 5-6.

The Outlaws played well and finished with a two-day team total of 623. As expected, Marist took first-place honors and finished with a 593. Cottage Grove placed third (696), Junction City fourth (707), Elmira fifth (770) and La Pine rounded out the scoring at 799.

On day one the Outlaws shot a 308 which was the best total an Outlaws team has produced in three years. Michael Reeve carded a 73 and Cody Farr-Baenziger shot a personal best of 73.

Farr-Baenziger had two birdies in the round but hole No. 15 was definitely a highlight. He made a good drive down the fairway, took his gap wedge and hit the ball to within one foot of the hole and made the putt for birdie.

Jonathan Standen carded an 80. Standen struggled on the front nine (42) but made a strong comeback on the back (38). Evan Mitchell shot an 82 and Aaron Simundson rounded out the scoring with a 95.

On day two Reeve shot an amazing 69, three under par, and finished second overall. The 69 was a career round for the senior golfer. Reeve recorded four birdies and told The Nugget that the birdie on hole No. 2 was his most memorable of the day.

"I drove the ball 350 yards and it landed about 30 yards from the green. I used my lob wedge and it almost went in for an eagle. I just had to tap it in for the birdie," said Reeve.

Reeve added, "It feels good to be out of my slump. My wedge shots and putting had been off and I've really been practicing a lot. It was nice the practice paid off for the district rounds."

Farr-Baenziger carded a 76 on day two and had two birdies in the round. Hole No. 14 could have been a disaster but Cody was right on target with his shots.

"I hit a bad drive into tall grass," said Farr-Baenziger. "Then, I had to hit the ball over a tree to get to the green which was surrounded by water on all sides but the front. I took my pitching wedge and made it over the tree onto the green to within eight feet of the hole and then made the putt for birdie. It was pretty exciting. These were two of my best rounds ever. I had good iron shots and putted well. It was exciting to finally play to my potential."

Mitchell shot a 78 and both Standen and Simundson finished the round with a 92.

Mitchell said, "We played our best golf here at districts. If we keep it up we'll finish in the top three at state."

Coach Jeff Barton said, "We have good momentum for state at Emerald Valley on Monday and Tuesday. Our goal continues to be that we finish in the top five at state. I really like our chances after our performances these last two days."