Ark Valley News - Hornets sending three golfers to state tourney

Qualifying for the state tournament are (from left) Jacob Yochum, Zach Williams and Reed Pierce. The tournament will be May 22 at Salina Municipal Golf course.

Hornets sending three golfers to state tourney
By Taylor Messick
Last Updated: May 18, 2017

On May 15, Valley Center High School hosted a Class 5A regional golf tournament at Sand Creek Station in Newton.

The Hornets finished fourth as a team with 348 points and just missed a team bid to state. Salina Central, Salina South and Maize all finished ahead of the Hornets with 339 points each and had to break the tie by scoring the teams' fifth golfers.

"They really struggled to get comfortable on the course and just couldn't seem to find a groove," said coach Mike McCormick. "They narrowly missed out of making it to state as a team. The season didn't end how we wanted but we set some records and played some of the best golf as a team I've seen here in a long while. I'm very proud of these guys and we will build on this next season."

Three Hornets finished in the top five of individuals who didn't qualify for state with a team. That means Valley Center will still be represented well at the state tournament. Junior Reed Pierce had a solid performance at Sand Creek. He led the Hornets with an 83, which was good enough for seventh place overall.

Seniors Zach Williams and Jacob Yochum shot 88s and were also good enough to qualify for the state tournament.

The state tournament is May 22 at Salina Municipal Golf Course.