Cardinal golfers end season at 4A district tournament

DES MOINES — Top three and top four. That’s what Newton High’s Cardinals were shooting for in Monday’s 2014 Class 4A District Golf Tournament.

The top three teams from each district advance to the state golf tournament. The top four individual finishers in each district advance to the state tournament.

Newton came out sixth as a team in a field of 14 teams. The Cardinals’ 323 team score was 10 shots behind district champion West Des Moines Valley’s 313. Des Moines Roosevelt took second with a 314 and Ankeny Centennial finished third with a 315.

“These are three of the best teams in the state, so I was pleased with our players’ performance today,” said Pat Riley, Newton head coach. “We hung with some of the best teams in the state in today’s cold and windy conditions. We gave ourselves a chance to make this a very special season. Just fell a few strokes short.”

Indianola and Johnston ended up fourth and fifth as teams with 319s.

Senior Devin Shores came up one stroke from qualifying as an individual. Shores shot a 77 for the 18-hole qualifying tournament at Waveland Golf Course. Sophomore Austin Reynolds finished with a 78 for the Cardinals followed by juniors Payton Thomas at 82 and Derek Damman at 86.

Junior Jordan Henning carded a 94 for the day. Senior Tyler Thongvanh shot a 101.

“I cannot say enough about the gritty performance Devin had today. He struggled off of the tee and seemed to find a way to grind out pars. If he had been hitting his tee shots straight, he would have shot low 70s high 60s and been the tournament medalist,” Riley said.

“He gave everything he had in his final high school meet. He didn’t have his best stuff, but found a way to help the team and almost qualify as an individual, which would have been the icing on his brilliant high school career as a Cardinal.

“Tyler was not feeling well from the beginning. I found out after the fact that he was sick even before we left for the meet. He is our only other senior, along with Devin, and I hated to see him go out like this. He worked really hard this summer and fall on his game. This is a young man that coaches would love to have on their team. He never complains and just shows up, works hard, enjoys the game, and does it again the next day. He will be missed.”

Riley said Reynolds’ 78 was yet another fine score for a young man that has loads of potential and a work ethic to go with it. Reynolds was the most consistent player for the team all year.

“He never had a round in the 90s and his lowest score was a 74. Austin ended the season with the team’s best average. I look for Austin to have a break out year next fall and be one of the best golfers in the state,” Riley said.

Thomas finished his third year of playing golf on Monday. Riley said he has come a really long way to get to where he is now. Riley said Thomas is one of the best putters on the team, if not the best, which really helps him score if he is struggling tee to green. Thomas works hard in the off season to improve his game, “and I look for him to step up next year and be a huge part of our team success and a consistent scorer for the Cards,” Riley said.

Damman has the second best average on the team. Riley said Damman struggled a bit at the beginning of Monday’s competition, but played really well from the middle to the end.

“Derek is a young man that has also accelerated his game to great heights. He is a team player, always has a positive attitude, and is very coachable. He will continue to work as hard as anyone in the off-season and will also be one of the best players in the state, come next fall,” Riley said.

Henning has continued to improve his game, Riley said. As one of the strongest kids walking around these varsity meets, Henning has great potential to be huge for Newton next fall, Riley said.

“Jordan is athletic and with some extra work in the off-season can become a consistent scorer for us. It was a growing experience for Jordan this fall and this will go along way in helping him become a veteran next season,” Riley said.

Contact Sports Editor Jocelyn Sheets at (641) 792-3121 Ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com.