Patriots Place Fourth at Nationals

The Christ Prep golf team gave a few strokes back to the field during second round action, but retained its 4th Place position at the National Christian Homeschool Golf Championships yesterday in Springfield, Mo. Unfortunately most of the Patriots carded higher scores than those delivered Thursday, the lone exception being Timothy Finley who shot 85.  The Patriots' combined to shoot 327 Friday. Paired with their Thursday tally of 320, their 36 hole total added up to 647.  That mark was well behind team champion North State (North Carolina) which shot a 608. The Oklahoma City Storm rallied a bit and moved from third to second place after day two. The Storm's 627 put them 11 strokes ahead of the THESA (Ft. Worth) Riders for second place honors. THESA's 338 bettered Christ Prep by nine strokes for third. The tournament was played on the blue tees at Rivercut Golf Course.

Individually, Joey Johnson was the lone Patriot in the top ten. Joey carded a four-over 76 Friday, which combined with his 1-under 71 Thursday for a 36 hole total of 147. That mark was good enough for 6th Place at the Championships. The overall champion was Brad Dalke of THESA who shot 141 (71-70).

In the Girls Division, Patriot freshman Phoebe Finley shot a 197 (91-106) to claim Third Place. She followed Rebecka Goodwin (OKC Storm) who was first with 180 (90-90). Rebecka narrowly edged Sidney Willis of Ft. Wayne Indiana who claimed second place with a 181 (92-89).

On a lesser note, Timothy Finley won the pre-tournament chipping contest. Phoebe Finley was second in the girls long drive competition. Phoebe drove a range ball 218 yards but was edged by Mariah Hopkins who sent one sailing some 237 yards.

The tournament provided the best assemblage of talent that Christ Prep saw during the entire 2012 season. Several participants will attend college on golf scholarships. Notables include Dalke, who committed to Oklahoma at age 12, and Mariah Hopkins of North State. Mariah is female golfer who placed 8th in the boys division with a 151. She will attend Western Carolina University next year. The Patriots own Joey Johnson will be attending Missouri State Univ. in the fall.

The Homeschool Nationals concluded the Patiot golf careers of Joey Johnson and Logan Routh. The CPA seniors competed three years for the Patriot varsity, playing 1 and/or 2 much of that time. While Joey moves on to MSU, we may very well see Logan playing for a smaller college in the area.  Each of these young men will be sorely missed.