Galena golf wins, Carson takes fourth

It will be no surprise if Tuesday's Northern 4A golf match is an indication of what's going to happen the rest of the season.

Galena High is the favorite to win the Northern 4A title, with several schools, including Carson, contending for the final two spots for the NIAA/U.S. Bank State Championships.

The Grizzlies won on Tuesday at Eagle Valley Golf Club, with four teams separated by nine shots rounding out the top five. With virtually everybody back, including Bryson Young, who placed second in the state last year, Galena won with a 362. Young also won the individual title with a 2-under-par 70.

Galena was followed by Reno (387), McQueen (392), Carson (396) and Reed (396). The top three Northern teams will go to state.

Carson was expected to be in somewhat of a rebuilding year, with only one player, Bryan Upton, who played at zone last season, and only one senior in Scotty Oxarart. But the Senators had an encouraging effort on Tuesday.

"We've got some young kids that seem like they're interested in improving," said Carson coach Paul Croghan, adding he was pleased his team broke 400. "I really didn't know going in what we would do. Hopefully we can improve each week."

But Croghan is focused on being one of the top eight teams to qualify for zone before making it to state. "To make it to zone first, that's priority," Croghan said.

Carson was led by Steve McQuirk with a 76. Oxarart and Tyson Roser each shot a 79, Tim Hohl and Shawn Heinz each fired an 81 and Upton had an 83.

The Senators won the tiebreaker for fourth with Reed when Upton, Carson's sixth highest scorer, had a lower score than Reed's sixth player, who shot an 84.

Othe top local players included Douglas High's Jonathan Merry, who shot a 72.