The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Dutchmen outlast field in league meet
Welton's three-under par round lifts No. 2 Manchester to win
By Ed Patino, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: April 24, 2008
Justin Welton continued his hot start to the season and the Manchester varsity boys golf team maintained its standing on top of the Cascades Conference.
Advertisement
Welton carded the low round of the day as the Flying Dutchmen won their second Cascades Jamboree of the year April 15 in an event hosted by East Jackson at Pine Hollow Golf Course.
Manchester carded a team score of 153 to win the meet. It beat out second-place Napoleon, which scored 156. Hanover-Horton placed third, while Vandercook Lake took fourth.
Welton earned medalists honors for the second time in three meets. The senior carded a three-under-par round of 32 to lead the Dutchmen.
"Justin had an outstanding day," Manchester coach John Wilkins said. "We shot good scores overall. When a team combines to shoot 153, it's probably going to win matches."
Rob Ford added a round of 39 for Manchester. Freshman Nik Stetler shot a 40, while Travis Stemen finished with a round of 42.
Ryan Sannis and Jacob Mahan also competed for the Dutchmen. Sannis carded a 47 and Mahan shot a round of 57.
"Rob came through for us with a good score, and that was nice to see," Wilkins said. "It shows what he's capable of and gives him something to build on. Nik and Travis were steady as usual."
Despite being a freshman and only having three varsity events under his belt, Stetler's abilities are not surprising, according to Wilkins. Stetler has competed on the junior tournament circuit the last couple of years, and Wilkins believes that helped him handle the pressure of varsity golf.
"Nik has played more golf than most kids with the summer tournaments, so this is nothing new to him," Wilkins said.
The Dutchmen will need to put its depth to use throughout the season, as a tight race for the Cascades Conference championship is starting to develop. Four of the eight teams in the league are currently ranked in the state's boys golf polls. The defending Cascades champion Dutchmen are ranked No. 2 in the Division 4 polls, while Vandercook Lake is ranked No. 8. Napoleon and Hanover-Horton are ranked in the Division 3 polls, with the Pirates currently No. 3 and Hanover-Horton sitting at No. 11.
"Having four ranked teams speaks well of the competition within the Cascades," Wilkins said.
Manchester hosted a league jamboree Tuesday after the newspaper's deadline at Rustic Glen Golf Course. The Dutchmen will return to action Saturday when they compete in the Cascades Invitational in Jackson.
Cascades JV Jamboree
Three golfers carded rounds under 50 to help the Manchester junior varsity boys golf team to a third place finish April 17 in a league jamboree hosted by Grass Lake at Waterloo Golf Course.
The Flying Dutchmen posted a team score of 196. Napoleon won the event while Hanover-Horton finished second.
Alex Wallace and Jimmy Hamilton each shot rounds of 48 to lead the Dutchmen. Trevor Smith added a 49, while Carl Provey carded a 51.
"For it being the first time out for some of the guys, I was pleased with the scores," Manchester coach John Wilkins said. "Alex and Trevor are the only ones who have played on varsity, so we have a lot of young kids who are not experienced. It's a learning process for them."
Also competing for Manchester were Ryan Lenhart, who carded a 53 and Cameron Folts, who shot a round of 57.
Staff Writer Ed Patino can be reached at 428-8173 or epatino@heritage.com.
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
TOP JOBS
