Lions finish fourth in State Golf Tourney

Manila's Michael Shedd shot a sparkling 74 to lead the Lions to a fourth place finish in last week's 3A State Golf Tournament at the Balboa Country Club in Hot Springs Village.

Shedd's 74 placed him eighth among 72 golfers. The Lions finished with a 267 team total as Garrett Scott and Andrew Nelms shot a 96 and 97 respectively. Senior Aaron Wallace shot a 100, but only the top three scores were counted in the team total.

Arkansas Baptist won the team title, as all three of their golfers shot under par scores, leading the team to a 213 finish. Episcopal Collegiate finished 10 strokes back in second place with a score of 223 while Riverview shot a 247 to finish in third place. Yellville-Summitt also shot a 267 to tie the Lions for fourth place.

"Michael really played well, as did the whole team," said Manila Coach John Deaton. "I was pleased with all four of the kids. They competed hard on a tough course. The greens were slick and somewhat tough to putt on, but I thought we really did an outstanding job."

"Michael wanted to finish his career on a good note, and he did just that," continued Deaton. "He was a little disappointed he didn't make the overall state tournament, but he still did a great job. Michael has been a great player for us and a real pleasure to coach. He and Aaron Wallace are both four year seniors for our team, and we are really going to miss them.

"We will have Garrett and Andrew back next year, as well as Jerry Jaco. It's been a fun year. We were really happy to finish fourth out of the 12 teams. We improved on last year's seventh place finish. The kids really did well for our school, and I am very proud of all of them."