A Look At The Links: State Tournament

The Idaho high school golf season wrapped up last week in Worley, Idaho at Circling Raven Golf Course.  The course itself is located on the Coeur D’Alene Reservation and primarily operated by the Coeur D’Alene tribe.  The name Circling Raven comes from a legendary medicine man from the tribe.  The course boasts some incredible views.  Laid out amongst the famous Palouse grasslands dotted with various woodlands and wetlands.  Rated as the number one course in the State of Idaho its area is expansive, spread out on 620 acres of Reservation land.  The multi-award winning course is a favorite amongst golf enthusiasts.  Holding the state tournament on such an acclaimed course gives the young athletes an opportunity to play on a world class course full of beauty and challenges.

Caribou County was fortunate enough to have three teams representing our area take part in this amazing competition.  The Grace boys team entered state on a good run after handily winning districts the week before.  The state tournament consisted of two rounds over the space of two days.  On day one, the long trip up north combined with the difficulty of the course took its toll on some of the boys.  Jamison Smith who has been the top golfer for the Grizzlies shot a team low of 97 in the first round.  Meanwhile freshman Keathen Edwards topped the Grace team in round one with an 86.  The two reversed roles in round two with Smith rebounding from day one posting an 83 to Edwards’ team low of a 103.  Koby Rindlisbaker joined Smith in improving his score over day one while Tate Williams shot slightly less well than he did on day one.  The final Grizzly, Easton Lloyd, was the most consistent over the two days with a 95 in round one and a 96 in round two.  In the end, the Grizzlies fell short of placing in the top three teams to bring home a trophy.  As a team, the boys finished in sixth place out of fifteen teams.  The Grizzlies will lose Lloyd and Rindlisbaker to graduation this year, but should return a good core of players that will be added to by a solid JV squad from this season.

The Lady Cardinals entered state on a high after winning the district tournament.  Like the Grace boys team, the Lady Cards had two senior players with a solid group of underclassmen competing in the tournament.  Soda was led by senior Oakley Peck who had a team best score on day one of 95.  Fellow senior Cierra Capell came in second on the team with a 102.  Tara Vedder shot a respectable 106 while the remaining two players, Waylon Lowe and Jasta Stoor, struggled slightly, scoring 120 and 122 respectively.  Peck improved on her round one score, shooting an 89 on day two.  Unfortunately, Stoor was the only other golfer to improve on her day one score slightly, improving to a 118.  Despite some disappointing round two scores, the Lady Cardinals still finished fifth overall in the team scoring.  With her impressive two day total, Oakley Peck finished seventh individually and brought home a medal.  The Lady Cards will miss their senior leadership but have plenty of young talent at their disposal that should help them make another run at state next season.

Of the three local teams that made the trip to state, the Lady Grizzlies fared the best as a team, finishing in third place and earning them a team trophy.  Kamryn Mansfield would lead the Grace girls in scoring over the two days, shooting an impressive 79 and 77.  Individual district champion Karlie Christensen struggled in the first round, finishing with a score of 98.  Christensen bounced back on day two and improved over her day one score shooting an 89 in the second round.  Shaston Lloyd played solid in round one coming in with a score of 94 but lowered her score in round two to a 100.  Like Lloyd, Madison Edwards had a solid day one with a 98 but again dropped on day two to a 108.  The Lady Grizzlies would not need the freshman Ava Christensen’s score this time around, but she gained some great experience shooting a 139 and 136 over the two rounds.  It came as no surprise to the Grizzly faithful that Mansfield and K. Christensen each finished in the top ten individually, each bringing home medals.  Christensen finished ninth overall, with Mansfield coming in at fourth place.  The Lady Grizzlies like the other two teams above are still very young losing only Edwards to graduation.  Look to see Grace in contention to compete at state again next season.

With all the youth and the quality coaching, golf in Caribou County looks like it will continue to be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.