Photos by Jeff Yoder

By Paul D. Bowker

Standing on the par-3 14th green at Blue Top Ridge Golf Course, Mid-Prairie senior golfer Dominic McCain allowed his thoughts to drift back to tournaments earlier this season.

He had a four-putt finishing hole at Wahkonsa Country Club in Durant and a three-putt finishing hole at the West Liberty Invitational.

He was determined to avoid a nightmarish finish yet again.

Facing a four-foot putt for his ninth par of the day in the River Valley Conference championship tournament on May 4, McCain sank the putt for an 82 and a fourth-place individual finish.

“I was like, ‘OK, if we can beat a three putt, I’d be pretty happy,’ “ said McCain, who missed a 15-foot putt for birdie. “And I ended up putting it for a par and I was on top of the world. I felt pretty happy about breaking that streak.”

McCain parred his last two holes and finished just six shots behind medalist Bob Ryan of Tipton. McCain became the fourth consecutive Golden Hawk golfer to be named River Valley Conference Elite All-Conference.

“I am really proud of Dominic,” said Mid-Prairie coach Kelby Bender. “His round didn’t start out like he wanted (a double bogey), but he stayed focused. Once he settled in, he really played well. He played his last 14 holes in 6-over-par. He has worked hard and been a great leader for us. It is great to see him playing so well.”

McCain’s round helped the Golden Hawks lock down a seventh-place finish with a team score of 389,

McCain was hoping to post a score in the 80s. Making RVC All-Conference was even better.

“Honestly, it’s something that I’ve been pushing for just ever, actually,” he said. “I mean, sophomore year, I came out here, shot a 95 and I was five strokes away from being an honorable mention. I was like, ‘OK, I know I can do better than that. Let’s see if we can come back out here.’ “

Of the six Mid-Prairie golfers, McCain was the only one who had previously played in a conference championship tournament.

Drew Schlabaugh, a freshman, shot a 98. After a rough start on the back nine with a 55, sophomore Warren Scarff played the front nine in 44 shots to finish with a 99.

“These two young guys really came through today and helped our team score well enough to finish in the top half,” Bender said.

Aiden Bush had rounds of 57 and 53 for 110.

The Golden Hawks travel to Pine Knolls Country Club in Knoxville on Friday for a Class 3A sectional meet.

Golden Hawks win triangular meet

Led by McCain’s 40, Mid-Prairie posted a season-low team score of 179 in a meet against Lone Tree and Highland on May 6 at Blue Top Ridge in Riverside.

McCain began his round with a birdie and was medalist. Scarff was four shots back for second medalist.

Bush carded a 46 and Schlabaugh shot 49 to round out Mid-Prairie’s low four.

“I was very pleased with how we played today,” Bender said. “Having played there on Tuesday for the RVC meet gave the golfers some confidence. They used their knowledge of the course and greens from Tuesday and all played well.”

In addition to Mid-Prairie’s low four, Ben Mattes carded a 54 and Ian Schmidt shot 57.

“Even though we didn’t use Ben’s and Ian’s scores today, I was very pleased with how they played,” Bender said. “Both were able to better their front nine scores from Tuesday, Ben by nine strokes and Ian by one.”

Brock Schaedler of Highland tied Mid-Prairie’s Schlabaugh for fourth place, shooting a 49.

Adam Knock and Joe Boxwell of Lone Tree, and Jamison Kasperak of Highland each carded 51.

Payton Yeggy rounded out Highland’s scores with a 53.

Lone Tree’s Tyce Alt and Oliver Altenhofen each finished with 57 as the Lions posted a team score of 216. Dominic Graap and Sebastian Jacque of Lone Tree added scores of 62.

Durant 188, Mid-Prairie 196

McCain carded a 41 to capture medalist honors, but the Golden Hawks dropped a River Valley match played May 10 at Wahkonsa Golf Course in Durant.

Schlabaugh shot a 45 for the Golden Hawks, but he and McCain were the only ones to have sub-50 rounds.

Ethan Gast led Durant with a 44. Koby Paulsen carded a 45 and Collier Rockow had a 48.

“We didn’t play as good as we wanted and Durant got us by eight on their home course,” Bender said. “Even though we didn’t play as well as we wanted, we didn’t give up. We competed and kept it close.”

Both McCain and Schlabaugh scored birdies for Mid-Prairie. Ben Mattes shot a 54 and was followed by Ian Schmidt (56), Warren Scarff (57) and Aiden Bush (58).

Parker Erhenfeldt led the Mid-Prairie JV team, scoring 60 in a 209-266 loss. Also golfing for the Golden Hawks were Lukin Rediger (64), Levi Bontrager (70) and Blake Peck (72).