McMillen's personal best round paces Storm at Bayard

Despite some uncharacteristic struggles, Creek Valley managed a fifth-place finish at the Bayard Invite on Tuesday.

The Storm finished with a 412 total in their first 18-hole match of the season. The team from Mitchell won the match with a 355 while host Bayard was close behind at 357. After having taken 369 strokes, Bridgeport finished fourth while Chase County’s 373 was good enough for fourth.

In the individual competition, Henry Heeg (77) of Kimball picked up a narrow win over Bayard’s Trae Blanco (78).

Sophomore Wyatt McMillen was the top finisher for the Storm as he came in with a 98. For McMillen, the score marked a personal best in competition.

Lane Godfrey, a qualifier for state in 2013, struggled on the back nine with a 61 to finish with a 103. Brett Godfrey was one stroke back at 104 and Cory Phillips finished with a 107. Joe VanWinkler rounded out the varsity five with a 120.

“The scores were higher than we hoped but fifth place for the team isn’t bad,” said Creek Valley Head Coach Cyd Hanson.

The biggest surprise of the day was Lane Godfrey’s inability to break 100. Last season he routinely shot in the 70s and low 80s. On Tuesday, Godfrey began his round in his usual steady fashion with a 42 before a swing flaw bit him on the back side.

“It’s just one of those things where he developed a shank,” said Hanson. “But he’s got a week to straighten that out and I’m sure he will.”

The Storm have a nine-day break before they return to the links on Apr. 17 at the Bridgeport Invite. A shot-gun start will open the action at 9 a.m.

Bayard Invite

Team Scores

1. Mitchell 355

2. Bayard 357

3. Bridgeport 369

4. Chase County 373

5. Creek Valley 412

6. Kimball 415

7. Garden Co. 425

8. Mullen 430

9. Hershey 432

10. Morrill 437

11. Hay Springs 448

12. Gordon-Rush. 476

13. Hemingford 509

14. Crawford NTS

Individual Results

1. Henry Heeg,

Kimball 77

2. Trae Blanco,

Bayard 78

3. Roman Konvicka, Bayard 80

4. Peyton Briggs, Mitchell 80

5. Luis Panduro,

Mitchell 85

6. Dakota Swires, Bridgeport 86

7. Colton Micheel, Crawford 87

8. Tyler Jennings, Chase County 89

9. Bo McVey,

Mitchell 90

10. Cole Retchless, Bridgeport 91