Led by senior Emerson Collins and sophomore Luke Dishongh, who finished 1-2 on the boys leaderboard, the Lakeside Rams finished 17 strokes ahead of the crosstown rival Lake Hamilton Wolves in a three-team golf match with the Greenwood Bulldogs on Thursday at Hot Springs Country Club.
Collins shot a 77 overall, one stroke ahead of Dishongh at 78 and two ahead of three Lake Hamilton golfers — senior Noah Lyles and freshmen Cace Autrey and Reid Pielemeier — who tied for third with 79s.
“Boys played well overall,” said Rams golf coach Brandon Burton. “Had some guys step up and play well for us. Today was our lowest team total of the year. We talked early on about trending towards our best golf at the end of the year, and I feel like we’re headed that direction. Have some guys right on the cusp of breaking through, really excited for the rest of the year.”
Thursday’s strong outing for Lakeside came on the heels of a 319-319 tie at the Searcy Lions on Monday where Collins finished first overall with a 75. Henry Durbin was fourth with a 76 while Dishongh was sixth at Searcy with an 83 and senior David Bass finished top 10 in ninth place with an 85.
The Rams opened the season with a second-place finish at the Relyance Bank Classic at Pine Bluff Country Club on Aug. 13. They’ve also hosted Searcy at HSCC on Aug. 18 and closed out the month with matches at Benton, Bryant and Searcy.
Burton commended Durbin for his second overall individual finish at the Relyance Classic. He also praised Aubrey Nickles for her second-place finish at Relyance on the girls side, although the Lady Rams have struggled overall this season. The Rams also finished 10th out of 16 schools at Benton’s Salt Cup and finished fourth at Relyance.
“Our girls competed hard at the Relyance Bank Classic early on,” Burton said. “We are competing hard and continuing to improve.
“Had two girls (Nickles and Samantha Runyon) shoot their lowest round of the year and hung with two very good teams. Excited for how this group has improved. Freshman Tensley Kellar is continuing to progress. Playing as a freshman is such a good experience for her. I believe when we get Coco Cangelosi back from injury, we’ll be just fine. Kids are working hard and continuing to get better.”
On Thursday, Greenwood’s 245 collective score won the girls competition, with Lake Hamilton finishing second with a plus-65 and Lakeside finishing third at 293.
Lakeside Rams golfer Samantha Runyon lines up a putt as Lake Hamilton’s Molly Magby looks on Thursday during a three-team golf match with Greenwood and Lake Hamilton at Hot Springs Country Club. (The Sentinel-Record/Pat Geans)
Nickles was third overall with an 82 on Thursday. Senior teammate Samantha Runyon was sixth with a 93 — tying with Lake Hamilton junior Molly Magby. Wolf sophomore Andi Plyler finished eighth with a 94.
“I was really proud of Molly Magby and Marlee Goff,” Johnson said. “That was Marlee’s first time to play the country club and she shot a 94. She’s just a sophomore. Molly was battling some illness and finished all 18 with a season-best 93.
“We started at 3:30 and there was no way that all the girls were going to get done playing 18 (holes). So this is where it’s a little tricky.”
Johnson said due to time constraints, some of the scores were incomplete, so they may not accurately reflect the play of the players who got a later start on Thursday. Johnson added he was happy to see some of his players put up season’s best performances under challenging circumstances.
“Noah Lyles and freshmen Reid Pielemeier and Cace Autrey all shot a season-best 79,” Johnson said. “This is the first time the Wolves have had sub-80 scores by anyone and all three achieved this on Thursday. Zade McCain’s 99 and Kash Muncrief’s 114 rounded out our season-best score of 336. Proud of all these guys.”
Lake Hamilton has three more matches left before the 5A Conference match at Longhills Country Club on Sept. 22-23.
Lakeside and Lake Hamilton golfers warm up prior to Thursday’s three-team golf meet at Hot Springs Country Club. (The Sentinel-Record/Pat Geans)