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Valley Center golf team off to rough start
By David Dinell
Last Updated: April 09, 2015

Chalk this one up to experience. 

The Valley Center High School boys' golf team struggled all day April 6 at the 2015 Andover Trojans Golf Invitational before ending with a team score of 420. 

That placed it 13th out of the 14-school field at Crestview Country Club's par 72 North Course. 

Valley Center did best Circle, which rounded out the contestants. The tournament was won by host Andover with a 315. Buhler came in second at 317 and Collegiate third with a 321 total. 

Hornets coach Mike McCormick expressed frustration with the season opener. 

"It was not a good day for us," he said. "We were wild off the tee and our putts were terrible."

Logan Burks led all Hornets with a 90. He was followed by Reed Pierce, who shot a 100, and Joey Sears, with a 114, rounded out the top three. 

The other half of the team included Corbin Alderson with a 116, Jacob Yochum, a stroke behind him with a 117, and Riley Johnson at 128. It was a grim picture, McCormick said. 

"Our top three guys did not play well and our bottom three guys played worse," he said.

McCormick said the team is struggling with "fundamental issues," such as using the correct grip. However, he vowed to "fight on through them" and said there will be some intense practice sessions this week as the team has a lot to work on. 

"We're going to be making a lot of adjustments," he said. "We're going to be breaking some old habits." 

Among the challenges are grip-and-swing issues. 

"We're trying to find the correct path in the swing plane. We've got a lot of work on fundamentals," he said. 

Along with the technique issues, his players had to deal with a case of opening-season nerves and the presence of a couple of high-profile sport figures. Wichita State basketball coach Gregg Marshall was at the course, watching his son play, as was PGA pro Woody Austin, who also had a son playing.

The Hornets also were up against some of the area's top-notched teams. Andover is a state champion and Buhler is well-regarded, too. 

"We had some very good competition there," McCormick said. 

If there was a saving grace to the day, it was that the team got in some much-needed experience, even if they came up on the short end of it, and it was in pleasant weather conditions. 

McCormick said while he's not pleased, he understands the "jitters" from a first tournament. 

"I guarantee we'll be a lot better on the second one," he said. "We will improve from here."

Team members do have a few days to work on their skills until the next match, April 13, when it takes on Andover Central at Terradyne Country Club. It then turns around the next day and heads north to tackle Newton at Sand Creek Station.  

The junior varsity team gets underway on April 9 against Augusta and also plays April 13 when it takes on Andover at Sierra Hills Golf Club.






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