TUCSON — The Division II boys golf state tournament is an annual two-day event that ends the high school season. But based on how the scores came in following Tuesday's final round of play, the tourney could have been called after Monday's first round at Silverbell Golf Course.
There was very little movement occurred on either the individual leaderboard, with Phoenix Thunderbird holding on to beat defending-champion Oro Valley Canyon del Oro for the team title. Tucson Sabino's Billy Comeaux took the individual crown wire-to-wire with a two-day score of even-par 140.
That left much of the final round serving as a place for individuals and teams to make small strides to build off for future seasons, like Notre Dame, where coach Carl Hess is hoping ascension will happen following his team's third-place team finish.
“Our first goal was to make the playoffs, and then see what happens,” Hess said. “We knew we had a pretty good team, but also a pretty young team.”
The Saints shot 593 over the two days, 22 strokes behind Thunderbird (571) and 15 behind CDO (583). Leading the team individually was junior Austin Stadell, who finished in a three-way tie for second with a 2-over 142. Tiebreakers gave Stadell the third-place medal.
“He's always been a good golfer, but we didn't know how good he'd place,” Hess said of Stadell, one of four starters expected to return for the 2013 season.
Also looking at a bright future is Campo Verde, which finished in seventh place with a team score of 610. Coach Dan Halloran was hoping for a top-five finish, but he expects that could come next year with four starters returning.
“It should be a strong team for years to come,” he said.
Squeaking into the top 10 teams was Seton Catholic, which shaved 15 strokes off its first-round score to finish at 625. That score included junior Austin Nelsen's 2-over-142, including a 1-under 69 on Tuesday, to take second place.
“I hit the ball really well,” Nelsen said. “But I didn't putt very good. A lot of three-putts.”
Final team standings
Thunderbird 286-285-571
Canyon del Oro 289-289-578
Notre Dame 295-298-593
Sunnyslope 302-296-598
Salpointe Catholic 304-296-600
Sabino 307-300-607
Campo Verde 306-304-610
Saguaro 312-305-617
Liberty 313-308-621
Seton Catholic 320-305-625
Sunrise Mountain 321-306-627
Arcadia 313-324-637
Nogales 322-320-642
Cactus Shadows 327-320-647
Paradise Valley 328-323-651
Williams Field 328-324-652
Coconino 328-333-661
Shadow Mountain 339-335-674
Top 10 individuals (with ties)
Billy Comeaux, Sabino 69-71-140
Austin Nelsen, Seton Catholic 73-69-142
Austin Stadell, Notre Dame Prep 71-71-142
John Souza, Thunderbird 72-70-142
Jack Snyder, Thunderbird 72-71-143
Trent Terry, Salpointe Catholic 74-69-143
Jake Chanen, Thunderbird 71-72-143
Michael Guardiola, Sunnyslope 72-71-143
Jaime Waltmire, Canyon del Oro 70-73-143
Frankie Wu, Canyon del Oro 75-69-144
Joel Berksen, Sabino 72-72-144
Eric Wu, Canyon del Oro 72-72-144
Click here for complete results from the Division II boys golf state tournament.
