Weiser’s girls’ team played strong and took first place win

The 2021 Snake River Valley District Golf Tournament, held Tuesday, May 11, was full of excitement and anticipation.
 The boys’ field was composed of five teams, which allowed the top two teams and the top five individual boys to advance to the state tournament.
 With only three girls’ teams competing, only the first place team would advance and the top three individual girls.
 The 18-hole tournament took place at River Bend Golf Course.  
 Like most days on the golf course, there were some amazing shots and then there were times of struggle. During a tournament, coaches are allowed limited contact and coaching opportunities can only take place between holes.
 Throughout the day, it was quite common for a coach from the opposing school to encourage a golfer after a great shot or a moment of struggle.
 As the boys’ individual scores started coming in, it looked like it was going to be a tight race for the top two teams.
 Weiser’s Carter Williams and McCall’s Dathan Ova finished early, each posting a score of 73, giving their teams an advantage. Both tried to stay focused, as they had to wait for all of the scores to be posted before they could start their playoff to see who would take the top medalist position.
 Once all of the individual scores had been tallied, Weiser was edged out by McCall, which took first place as a team with a score of 336 and Fruitland with a score of 347. Weiser’s boys’ team finished third, with a team score of 368.
 McCall and Fruitland moved on to the state tournament.
 After much anticipation and waiting, Williams and Ova started their playoff on the par 4, hole number one. After a bit of scrambling, they finished the hole even.
 The par 3, hole number two was the final hole of the day as Ova finished one stroke ahead of Williams, giving Ova the top medalist honors for the district tournament.
 Williams led Weiser’s team score with his 73, Devyn Young had an amazing day coming in with a personal best of 84, Levi Estes posted a 104, Rylee Willett had a 107, and Seth Caviness a 125.
 The top five boys also earned the right to compete at state.
 Dathan Ova and Tate Ova of McCall, and Lucas Rynearson of Fruitland are traveling and competing with their teams. Williams and Young of Weiser also advanced to the state tournament as individuals.
 Coming into the tournament, the McCall girls’ team had the advantage after winning the majority of the matches during the season, but the Weiser girls were determined and focused.
 At the end of the day, the Wolverines prevailed and earned the right to play at state with their first place finish and a team score of 456. McCall posted a team score of 479 and Payette posted 494.  
 Weiser was led by third place medalist Gabi Palmer with a score of 110. Elle Svedin posted a score of 112, Jasi Yragen had a 115, Paige Johnson finished with 119, and Rachele Story had a 144.
 Homedale’s Tea Uranga and Payette’s Hannah Johnson finished in first and second, respectively, which earned them the right to compete as individuals at state.
 The state tournament took place in Northern Idaho at Twin Lakes Golf Course in Rathdrum on Monday, May 17 and Tuesday, May 18.
 No scores were available at time of printing.