Lady Bulldogs in top 10 with their own Wednesday rally
The St. Cloud boys golf team shot the second-best team score of the day Wednesday to move up to a sixth place finish at the Class 3A state tournament on the El Campeon Course at Mission Inn Resort.
After battling the cold, windy conditions Tuesday, the Bulldogs were in ninth place after shooting a 34-over 322. The team battled back Wednesday to shoot 297, the second-best round behind champion Dwyer (288) to rally to sixth.
“The (Tuesday) conditions were ridiculous, they had us teeing off at 7 a.m. and it was freezing,” Coach Alejandro Sanchez said. “As group we could not get into any rhythm going at all. Day two they delayed the start, and it made all the difference. Not using it as an excuse because other teams were facing the same conditions, but you could tell by the second day scores we would have been a lot more competitive.”
Individually, the Bulldogs were led by freshman Ayden Febres (78-73—151) and Ethan Parrish (77-74—151), who tied for 15th. Sophomore Arnold Pouncy (84-69—153) shot one of only three subpar rounds Wednesday. St. Cloud’s other counting score came from junior Nick Lehto (83-78-161).
“Really proud of the way we responded on the second day. Our guys were fired up to prove Tuesday was a fluke and they did that. We were actually nine under at the turn on Day 2 before falling back just a little but still shot the second-best round of the day among all teams,” Sanchez said. “I just wish they would have made the same decision the first day, it would have made for a better tournament for everyone.”
Dwyer, who won the Region 2 championship at Royal St. Cloud last week, shot 299-288-587 to claim the 3A state championship. Dwyer senior Hampton Beebe was the individual medalist (72-68—140).
It was St. Cloud’s second consecutive top 10 finish at state (seventh last year). With four of its top five players returning next season, St. Cloud should be in position for another strong run to the state tournament.
Playing at the Las Colinas Course at Mission Inn, the Lady Bulldogs made their fifth consecutive state championship appearance. Like the boys’ team, the ladies (336-318—654) struggled Tuesday but rallied Wednesday for a top 10 finish.
St. Cloud was led by junior Maddie Burda (78-75—153, 23rd) OBC champion Abigail Murphy tied for 48th at 81-80-161; while captain Karolyna Adams shot 82-81-163 and Olivia Siegel shot 95-82—177.
Parrish (603) overcame a 12-stroke first day deficit to edge defending champion Lake Nona (605) for the 3A Team Championship.
