When the sixth and final TVC West Jamboree for high school golf was conducted, and when all the team scores were tabulated, Ithaca prevailed as conference champion by a comfortable 34 strokes in mid-May.
“I thought we could have played better,” said Ithaca coach Corey Smith. “But I wasn’t disappointed. You can always play better.”
At the final jamboree, Ithaca shot 170, followed by St. Charles with 172.
David Brown shot 38 to lead the Ithaca attack, followed by Luke Rayburn with 40, Kyle Greer with 45, Garrett Miniard with 47, and Alex Vanderploeg with 48.
“A player from Merrill, Sam Michael, had a hole in one on No. 6 [par 3, 155 yards.] Great shot by him.”
Ithaca had the best scores in all six jamborees. The Yellow Jackets’ two best team scores were 153 and 155. The closest jamboree they had was a 163-164 win over St. Charles.
After six jamborees, it was Ithaca at 988, St. Charles at 1022, Breckenridge at 1165, and Valley Lutheran at 1266.
Smith has liked the play of his top three players – Brown, Miniard, and Rayburn.
“They’ve been playing well,” Smith said. “Those three have interchanged over the course of the season. It switches a lot. Luke has played overall the best.”
In the meantime, the Yellow Jackets were gearing up for other tournaments to get ready for the postseason.
The final jamboree was in mid-May at Kimberley Oaks Golf Course, hosted by St. Charles.
Ithaca shot 325 on Monday, May 21, to place second in the 2012 Cardinal Invitational at Ferris State University’s Katke Golf Course.
Luke Rayburn shot 79 for Ithaca, followed by Brown with 81, Miniard with 82, Jon Rayburn with 83, and Greer with 99.
Alma took first with 324. East Grand Rapids was third at 328.
On May 17, the Yellow Jackets were second at Farwell in the Al Patterson Invitational with a score of 321.
Brown and Luke Rayburn both had 78s at Farwell. Miniard followed with 80, while Jon Rayburn had 85. Patrick Merchant shot 86.
His No. 4 and 5 golfers have been inconsistent, Smith indicated.
“We’re looking for consistency,” he said. “Our last two spots, we’re getting closer…Jon Rayburn has been coming on.”
Smith acknowledged that cold windy weather in April didn’t present ideal golf conditions.
“When it was windy, we struggled a lot,” Smith said. “A lot of other teams did, too. As the weather warmed up, we’ve picked up our pace.”