Rough Day
Ronan sends four to state golf tournament despite tough morning at divisonals
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RONAN — Reality defied logic for the Chiefs and Maidens on the Mission Valley Golf Course Saturday as both squads came in last at the Northwestern Class A Divisional Tournament.
With both squads coming off strong showings at Frenchtown the week before, the dismal finishes were disappointing for Ronan head coach Rupe Paulson, who had high hopes for both his boys and girls teams this season.
“Why did we play so poorly? It’s tough to explain. I don’t know what to say,” Paulson said. “I thought the girls were a lock. They were coming off two great tournaments, they were all playing well and they were playing on their home course. I just don’t know what happened. It was just ugly, ugly, ugly. I really did not expect these kinds of performances, especially from the girls.”
The Maidens will be sending their two top golfers to the state tournament in Laurel this weekend, but the team shot well under its average at divisionals Saturday.
Payge Delaurenti had the best day for the Maidens, finishing seventh individually after shooting a 104. The performance was good enough to earn Delauranti a trip to state this weekend.
The Ronan girls’ top golfer, Alex Dulmes, suffered an off-day Saturday, finishing ninth overall after shooting a 106. Dulmes will also be making the trip to Laurel this weekend.
The course really seemed to take its toll on the rest of the Maiden golfers as Tiana Antoine finished with a 129, Shyann Brum shot a 133 and Daron Whitedirt shot a 142.
“I thought the girls were a shoe-in for state but nothing went right for us on Saturday,” Paulson said.
The Chiefs did not fare much better, coming in fifth as the team combined to shoot a 390, 63 shots above the school-record 327 the team shot the week before at Frenchtown.
“They just let their heads get to them. They had a few bad shots and they just couldn’t get past them,” Paulson said. “I preach and preach about forgetting about the last shot and focusing on the one in front of you, but they just can’t seem to get it into their heads. That is the problem you have with a lot of young golfers.”
Three Chief golfers were coming off either a season or career best day in Frenchtown in their previous tournament, but all struggled to find their game at Ronan Saturday.
Riley Dennis, who was coming off a season-best 75 in Frenchtown, had the top performance for the Chiefs Saturday. Dennis finished the day shooting an 88, good enough for 11th place and a trip to state.
Payton Adams will also be making the trip to state after shooting a 90 to finish 13th.
Alex Killian, who shot a career-best 82 in Frenchtown, struggled Saturday and finished with a 104. Lucas Conklin, who also set a personal-best with an 84 at Frenchtown, finished the day at 111.
Senior John Romero finished the tournament shooting a 108.
While the team finishes were a disappointment for Paulson, he admits that it was a tough time for his kids to be playing golf.
“In the kids' defense, homecoming week is tough on everyone,” he said. “Friday was the worst. There was the parade and then a pep-band dinner and then the football game and dance. We only had about 15 minutes for practice that day. It really was a waste of a day for us. They were worried about everything but golf.”
Despite the tough day for the teams Saturday, Paulson said he still had very high hopes for his golfers that are advancing to state.
“Riley should end up in the top 15. Actually, he and Payton both have a good shot,” Paulson said. “If Riley keeps his head on straight and doesn’t try to keep up with the big boys off the tee, then he should have a real shot at making the top 10. Everyone is just going to have to hit the ball straighter in Laurel. I hear there are some very large trees on that course and that could cause us serious problems if we don’t keep the ball right down the middle.”
