Hesperia senior Alex Scott extended his high school career another
week by earning a state qualification at Tuesday's Division 4 regional
tournament in Thompsonville.
Scott shot an 84 to place seventh overall and grab one of the three individual qualifying spots.
The
senior Panther bounced back from a triple bogey on his first hole and
played consistent golf after that. After two bogeys on his next two
holes, Scott made six consecutive pars. He closed the round with three
pars in his final five holes to secure his spot at state.
"A few times throughout the day he
had to battle back into the qualifying spot and we were wondering if he
would make it, but he finished out the round with three pars and
solidified his shot to the state finals," Hesperia coach Mark Arbogast said. "We are super excited for Alex
and couldn't be more proud of him."
Pentwater approached the
regionals cautiously due to the heavily wooded course. Early on, those
efforts paid off, and the Falcons were battling for a team qualifying
spot. However, some struggles late in the round led to the team
finishing fourth with a solid score of 366 - seven shots out of team
qualification.
Gavin Macher led the Falcons with an 86,
missing state by two strokes. He opened his round with five pars in the
first eight holes before running into some tough holes later in the
round.
Bode Powell added a 90 for the Falcons, closing his
round with a chip-in birdie. Brody Austin added a 92 and Izzabella
Kolenda closed team scoring with a 98. Aiden Henry posted a 126.
"We are so proud of our finish today," Pentwater coach Alicia Kolenda said. "Even if we didn’t make it (to state), we
played an amazing season."
Hesperia placed 11th at regionals
as a team. Behind Scott's team-leading 84, Logan Kammer shot a 93 and
Taylor Ackerberg had a 108. Tim Hoaglin shot a 129, and Evan Conkle
posted a 133.
