Colonels place second in district golf mini

FRONT ROYAL — The James Wood golf team didn’t have two of its top four golfers on Monday, but the Colonels’ depth paid off again.

The Colonels were one of only six teams that had all six of their golfers shoot in the 80s or better at the 29-team Curly Licklider Golf Tournament last week. At Monday’s second Class 4 Northwestern District mini at Blue Ridge Shadows Golf Club, the four Colonel golfers who competed in that tournament all shot 89 or better to help James Wood place second with a 335.

Kettle Run bested its six Northwestern District foes for the third time in three tournaments to open the 2021 season, including the first district mini, with a 311. The Cougars’ Ben Gray led the way with a 2-under 70 to win by eight strokes over Handley senior Jack Thome and James Wood sophomore Caden Ganczak (78 each).

Colonels coach David Oates was pleased with the performance of his team, which was without Braeden Crawford and Drake Reese due to other commitments.

Following Ganczak were Luke Davis (82), Brayden Rockwell (86) and Sean Cody (89).

“I just told our team to go out and try not to do anything crazy and see what happens,” said Oates, who noted all of his golfers had a tough time at the end of their rounds because of the heat. “Our 5 and 6 (Zach Woskobunik and Laney Stiles), they’ve never played before in a tournament. I’m proud of them.”

Monday’s mini gave Oates’ golfers an idea of what to expect at the Class 4 Northwestern District tournament, which will be held at Blue Ridge Shadows on Sept. 27. Ideally, players won’t have to play in 90-degree weather in late September, but they’ll still have to be ready for a tough course to play and navigate due to things like hills and water hazards. Of the seven district schools, only Millbrook plays at Blue Ridge.

“This is a difficult course to walk, and it’s very penal,” Oates said. “There’s danger everywhere on this golf course with out of bounds and hazards. One wrong shot can lead to a big number quickly.”

Handley placed third with a 340. The Judges were followed by Millbrook (348), Fauquier (379), Sherando (424) and Liberty (430).

Ganczak only played the course for the third time on Monday. He came out on Sunday to practice and shot in the mid 80s.

“I was pretty consistent with my irons,” said Ganczak, who had four birdies. “I wasn’t too good with my drives, so I was bit upset with that. But I was just trying to land it on the green, and get up and down for bogey and par saves. [Coming out on Sunday] really helped me today.”

Ganczak said the big thing that’s helping him out this season is better distance.

“I’m hitting the ball longer, making better contact,” he said. “I’m getting more spin, so it’s easier to land on the greens.”

“He’s got all the tools,” Oates said of Ganczak. “He’s a hard, hard worker. He’s got a very good all-around game.”

Seniors Thome and Will Croyle of Millbrook didn’t have the ideal finish to their rounds on Monday, but they once again showed why they’re two of the best golfers in the Class 4 Northwestern District.

Thome and Croyle (7-over-79 to tie for fourth) continued their streak of sub-80 rounds even though each had double bogeys on the 280-yard, par-4 18th hole.

In three tournaments this season, Thome and Croyle are the only two Winchester-Frederick County golfers who have shot in the 70s each time out.

Thome was hoping for a better finish after shooting 1-over 37 on the front nine.

“The front nine, I was just on the ball by keeping it straight,” Thome said. “And I just had a lot of two-putt pars.”

The highlight for Thome was a 30-foot birdie putt on the 346-yard, par-4 eighth hole.

Thome proceeded to shoot 4-over on holes 10-16. While walking to the 17th tee, Thome, who had yet to get a birdie on the back nine, stated his goal was to at least get one on the final two holes, and he did that with a downhill putt from 15 feet on the par-4, 342-yard 17th. But a short putt lipped out on 18 to give him 5-over on the back nine.

Overall, Thome showed he can navigate Blue Ridge Shadows pretty well.

“This is probably one of the toughest courses in the area,” Thome said. “Knowing I can shoot 78 here is good going into the [district] tournament, and it helps the team out.”

Handley’s other scoring golfers were Austin Smith (84), Jag Fitzsimmons (84) and Sam Thome (94).

“We had some tough conditions, but we have to do a better job of battling through some tough holes and tough conditions,” Judges coach Troy Mezzatesta said. “We just have to be a little mentally tougher out there.”

Croyle shot a 4-over 40 on the front nine. His back nine got off to a rough start when his uphill tee shot on the par-3, 151-yard 10th rolled back down the hill close to the cart path and close to the tee box. But Croyle got his second shot on the green and managed a bogey, leading to a stretch where he birdied the 11th and 14th holes and parred the 12th and 13th.

“I put that second shot close and almost saved a par,” Croyle said. “I thought that was big shot and was a big momentum changer.”

Over the last four holes, though, Croyle had two double bogeys. He also had one on the 15th.

“I didn’t finish the way I wanted to,” Croyle said. “I was overall happy in the heat. I thought 79 was a solid score.

“I’m excited for the cooler weather [in late September for the district tournament]. I think that will help the way people play, because the heat definitely got to me. I’m sure it got to everybody else.”

Millbrook coach Mark Manspile was hoping for a little better performance from his team. The Pioneers’ other scoring golfers were Richie Pell (88), Nick Gressley (89) and Jack Hersey (92).

“I know a lot of kids were struggling with the heat, which was to be expected,” Manspile said. “Richie played well today. He’s kind of getting himself into a position where he can come through for us. I know Nick and Jack felt they could have played better.

“I know we’ve talked about as a team that it’s going to be close [as far as qualifying for the region tournament; only the regular-season champ and two other teams advance]. This is a course that’s physically demanding, and our kids are used to that. Where we are in mid-August, I feel OK. The kids will continue to get more exposure here, and hopefully by the end of September we’ll be firing on all cylinders.”

Sherando’s scoring golfers were Kadin Kasuboski (97), Isaiah Doeden (108), Jackson Hepner (108) and Sophia Straightiff (111).

Kettle Run was also led by Hayes Talomie (79), Jack Wargo (80) and Colin Doyle (82).

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