PENDLETON — Cole Sazue shot a personal best 77 on Monday at the Nels Nelson Invitational, helping Pendleton to the boys teams title at Wildhorse Resort Golf Course.
The Bucks put together a 316 on the day, two strokes better than Hanford, for the title. La Grande was a distant third with a 342, while Echo/Stanfield was fourth with a 345.
“What I’m most excited about was the consistency of the team from top to bottom,” Pendleton coach Marc Sokoloski said. “If you’re going to make a run at a state title, it’s gonna take that type of consistency. Watching the boys play, there’s still lots of things we can improve on and hopefully post better scores as we move through the bulk of our season. Our next event is at Birch Creek, which will challenge us in different ways.”
Corman Meinshausen of Hanford won medalist honors with an even par 72, while Sawyer Quinton of Prairie City was second with a 75, and Sazue tied for third with Cole Nighswonger of Hanford and Elias Long of Baker.
Pendleton’s Landon Neistadt followed with a 78, with teammate Garret Reinhart right behind with an 80. Sheldon Joseph rounded out the top four for the Bucks, tying for ninth with an 81.
Sazue had par on eight holes, and birdies on holes 7, 11, 3 and 4, while Neistadt had birdies holes 1 and 8.
Echo was led by Tyler Campbell with an 80, while Cole Ayres had an 85, Tristan Horn an 89, and Owen Stafford a 91. Campbell shot par on six holes, and had birdies on holes 2, 10, 15 and 17.
“All five shot under 100 this week, with three coming in under 90,” Echo coach Lindsay Murdock said. “They’re really starting to figure out what they need to work on, and just as importantly, they’re not letting one frustrating hole derail the rest of their round. They reset, focus and move onto the next shot. That kind of growth is fun to watch.”
Pilot Rock’s Landon Norton had a 102 on the day, while Weston-McEwen’s Davis Murphy shot a 113, and Theo Sprenger had a 117.
Girls golf
Pendleton’s Sophie Nelson tied for second with an 84 to lead the Bucks to second place at the Nels Nelson Invitational at Wildhorse Resort Golf Course.
“The girls played great,” Pendleton coach Dave Curtis said. “Sophie shot her best score of her career and tied for second place.”
Dufur won the team title with a 398, with Pendleton right behind at 409. La Grande was third (433), while Heppner held its own against the big schools, finishing fourth with a 439.
Jocelyn Bork of Baker won medalist honors with an 83, with Nelson and Dufur’s Tygh Timinsky second with 84, and Heppner sophomore Naomi Propheter fourth with an 88.
Rounding out the scoring for the Bucks were Brinley Curtiss and Emma Ware, who tied for eighth with Mac-Hi’s Delaney Chesnut with 107s, and Kennady Alvarado, who was 12th with a 111. “I’m very happy with the effort and look forward to seeing them improve,” Curtis said.
