All three Montgomery County boys golf teams got an early season look at the competition in not only the county race but also in the Sagamore Conference on Saturday as Southmont hosted its annual Southmont Golf Invitational at the Crawfordsville Country Club. Crawfordsville, Southmont, and North Montgomery along with Fountain Central all had good showings.
The Athenians took third overall with a 365, North Montgomery fifth with a 374, Fountain Central placed three strokes behind the Chargers with 377, and Southmont three strokes behind the Mustangs with a 380. Tri-West was able to cruise the title as the Bruins shot a 328 with Danville taking second with 345.
Crawfordsville was led by Tanner Gilland’s 84 and Thomas Bowling’s personal best of 89. Braxton Smith carded a 90, Camden Dowden a 102, and Henry Hoar rounded out the scoring with a 109. The 365 was 29 strokes better for CHS than in their first 18-hole meet of the season at the Danville Invite last Saturday.
“The conditions weren’t great with the cold and the wind but everyone dealt with that today so we can’t use that as an excuse,” Cville coach Tom Perkins noted. “Tanner had an off-day and had a rough start but recovered nicely. I have to give a ton of credit to Thomas Bowling for having his best round of his career. That’s a score he’s capable of shooting. All of our guys are capable of shooting better than what they did but still to shoot a 365 I’m thrilled with where we’re at this early into the year.”
The low-score of the county schools belonged to the Chargers Neal Jeffery who shot an 80. Alex Chapman’s 91 was second for the Chargers. Beckett Martin ended with 100, Rohen Barnes 103, and Jackson Grundy ended with a 109. Charger coach Bob Ryker was unavailable for comment after the meet.
Southmont was led by Austin Foley’s 82 with Cole Rhoads carding a 98. Both Jacob Fox and Jesse Smith ended with 100’s. The 380 for the Mounties was a drastic improvement than their first 18-hole meet of the season when they shot a 433 at the Clinton Central Invite.
“We’re 53 strokes better than we were two weeks ago,” Mountie coach Bill Whalen said with a grin. “Austin’s score of 82 was with him shooting a 46 on the front than playing what we’re used to seeing from him with a 36 on the back. We know we’re a work in progress with pretty much an all-new lineup and I’ll gladly take a 380 today. These guys come ready to practice to work hard and are doing their best so far. That’s all I can really ask.”
Both Perkins and Whalen also noted how the meet was great to see the competition they’ll see with county and conference later in the season.
“Everyone but Lebanon is here today so we got a great look at the rest of the field,” Perkins said. “We really like coming to this tournament because it’s fun. I think our kids are more relaxed. They know the course and they know the kids they’re competing against. That allows them to bring a lot of energy to the course and I was proud of them for how they played.”
Whalen spoke the same as Perkins while also tipping his cap to the Bruins for their first place finish.
“Tri-West is by far the cream of the crop in the conference this year and they proved that today,” Whalen said of the Bruins. “Danville posted a 345 and that’s a great score. After that really I don’t think anyone really knows. It’s going to come down to who’s on and who’s off.”
Fountain Central was led by Wes Jackson’s 80. Jaylin Payne ended with a 97 while both Kam Krug and Ayden Donaldson shot 100’s.
