Boys golf team takes third at state

The Outlaws finished third at the state tournament held at the Emerald Valley Golf Course on Monday and Tuesday, May 5-6.

The team's goal all season was to bring home a third-place trophy and the golfers were pleased with their achievement. Marist won the two-day tournament with a final score of 620. Phoenix placed second at 644 and the Outlaws took third with 658.

The Outlaws latched onto the third-place slot on the first day of play.

Michael Reeve shot an 80 for the Outlaws, highlighted by an eagle on hole No. 3 (par 5, 530 yards). Reeve hit his drive 320 yards and his next shot got him on the green. Michael made the eight-foot putt for eagle.

Cody Farr-Baenziger also shot an 80 in the round. Evan Mitchell carded an 82, Jonathan Standen an 83 and Aaron Simundson rounded out the scoring with a 98.

"I couldn't have been happier with our play after the first day," said Coach Jeff Barton. "We were 10 strokes behind Marist and Phoenix and had a chance to move closer to the leaders on the second day. On the second day we mounted a good challenge to the leaders on the front nine, but our back nine proved to be our undoing. We kind of stumbled to the finish line but still finished third."

Mitchell led the Outlaws on the second day with a score of 79, which included three birdies. On hole No. 11 (par 3, 170 yards), Mitchell hit the ball right to the middle of the green and the ball rolled to within three feet of the pin. Evan made the downhill, right-to-left breaker putt for birdie.

Farr-Baenziger shot an 82, Reeve an 84, Standen an 88 and Simundson a 97.

Farr-Baenziger recovered for a great birdie on the seventh hole (par 5, 495 yards).

"I drove the ball 230 yards and then sliced the ball into the deep rough 50 yards from the green. Then, I flopped a sand wedge to the green and made the three- foot putt for birdie."

Reeve told The Nugget he had trouble on the back nine both days.

"I really struggled on the back nine and got in trouble off the tee," said Reeve, "but I did hit the ball well on the front nine. I'm so proud of the younger kids on the team. They played very well."

Senior Evan Mitchell said, "The course was tough but I thought I played it pretty well on both days. Overall, we played decent as a team but it wasn't our best. I'm happy with our third- place finish, which was our goal coming into the tournament."

Farr-Baenziger and Mitchell both made the all-tournament team. Mitchell tied for a seventh-place finish and Farr-Baenziger tied for ninth.

Coach Jeff Barton said, "The state tournament was a great experience for our kids. I was happy for the seniors (Reeve and Mitchell) that we achieved our goal and brought home a trophy. It was a great season."