Albany High golfers play in 2 early tournaments
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lions boys golf team began their season with an eye on returning to state with tournaments at Abilene’s Maxwell Golf Course and Hawley’s Twisted Oaks Country Club.
The Lions make their next tournament outing Monday, March 6 at the Eula Invitational at Baird’s Shady Oaks Golf Course. The girls division, which will include Albany’s Myleigh Leveridge and Chelsy Parsons, will be played Wednesday, March 8.
“Because we’re blessed to have so many golfers, to see who’s going to be on the team each week, we’re going to get in as many qualifying rounds as we possibly can so we can piece things together for district,” Lion coach Tate Thompson said. “We’ve seen some district competition and where we need to be.”
With only four golfers available because of others’ involvement in basketball, the Lions finished second in the team standings Tuesday, Feb. 21 at the Abilene High JV tournament at Maxwell. The Lions shot a team score of 355 to finish behind the Abilene High JV.
Ayden Balliew won medalist honors after shooting 75, while Houston Heatly was second individually at 83. Ty Richards shot 92 and Koy Cauble shot 105.
“I thought it would be beneficial to get those four a tournament under their belts and play a different kind of course,” Thompson said. “We’ve played Maxwell in the past and will again. It helps to break up the monotony.”
Thompson added that even though the event was a junior varsity tournament, playing against teams from Class 4A and 5A schools offered a level of competition comparable to 2A varsity teams.
On Monday, Feb. 27, the Lions finished second at the Hawley Invitational at Twisted Oaks with a 367.
Luke Marshall finished third in the medal standings at 84. Heatly shot 89, followed by Balliew at 94, Cauble at 100, and Richards at 101.
Huffman Heatly shot 95 playing as a medalist.
In the girls division, Leveridge shot 139 in her first round of the spring playing as a medalist.
“Even though Hawley is a nine-hole course, it’s very similar to Shady Oaks,” Thompson said. “It’s very tight, and you can’t make mistakes, or you’ll get some unwanted strokes.”
