Ada boys fall just short of state tournament berth
May 3—WISTER — The Ada High School boys golf team was an agonizing six strokes from qualifying for next week's Class 4A State Tournament following a fourth-place showing at the regional tournament hosted Wednesday at the Wolf Mountain Golf Course.
Ada finished fourth with a team score of 345, just behind third-place Inola who captured third place with a 339.
The Top 3 teams from each regional, including ties, automatically advance to the state tournament.
"It came down two one or two holes," Ada head coach Robbie Powell told The Ada News. "It was certainly a disappointment not to get the entire team qualified for the state tournament, but we just really struggled and did not play very well on the back nine."
Powell said the Cougars were in the hunt for a berth in the state tournament after a solid start to the regional tournament.
"We were right in the mix after nine holes, but did not deal with weather conditions as they changed as we started the back 9," he said.
Poteau won the regional championship with a score of 323 and Blanchard was second at 327.
The good news is that the Cougars will be sending two individual golfers to the Class 4A State Tournament, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday at the Shangri-La Resort in Afton.
Ada freshman Drake Kanuch carded a 75 and ended up in third place — a stroke behind both Travis West of Inola and Connor Whitworth of Poteau, who tied at the top of the medalist race with identical scores of 74.
Sophomore Couper Taylor-Rogers also qualified for state after finishing in a tie for eighth place after shooting an 83.
"Those two will go and compete for an individual state title next week at Shangri-La," Powell said.
Ada's Carter Kenley finished 21st with a score of 93 and Kash Taylor-Rogers was a stroke behind with a 94. Brant Vest rounded out the AHS scoring with a 96.
The Byng Pirates finished seventh at the regional tournament with a score of 383. Freshman Ethan Presley led the BHS charge with an 88, good enough for 15th in the individual standings. He narrowly missed out on a state tournament berth.
Other Byng scores included Tyler Rainey with a 94, Everett Denney with a 100, Cason Kates with a 101 and Gary Raney with a 112.
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Wednesday, May 1
BOYS
Class 4A Regional Tournament
Wolf Mountain Golf Course
Team Standings
1. Poteau 323
2. Blanchard 327
3. Inola 339
4. ADA 345
5. Stilwell 377
6. Verdigris 382
7. BYNG 383
8. Madill 393
9. Sulphur 396
10. Broken Bow 404
11. Seminole 413
12. Sallisaw 417
Top 10 Individuals
1. Connor Whitworth (Poteau) 74
2. Travis Weast (Inola) 74
3. Drake Kanuch (Ada) 75
4. Carson Browning (Blanchard) 78
5 Garrison Whitworth (Poteau) 79
6. Caden Thompson (Inola) 80
7. Jared Wrigley (Blanchard) 80
8. Couper Taylor-Rogers (Ada) 83
9. Brody Varner (Blanchard) 83
10. Wyatt Reece (Poteau) 85
Ada Individual Scores
Drake Kanuch 75
Couper Taylor-Rogers 83
Carter Kenley 93
Kash Taylor- Rogers 94
Brant Vest 96
Byng Individual Results
Ethan Presley 88
Tyler Raney 94
Everett Denney 100
Cason Kates 101
Gary Raney 112
