A trio of sophomores squeezed into the top 10 to boost Festus to the team championship at the Jefferson County Activities Association golf tournament May 1 at Ste. Genevieve Golf Club.
The Tigers’ Drew Johnson carded a nine-over-par 81 to finish second, one stroke behind repeat individual champion Payton Strattman, a St. Vincent senior. Not far behind Johnson, who is the son of Festus boys basketball head coach Dan Johnson, were Ryder Shy and Liam Dontrich of Festus, who each fired an 84 and finished fifth and sixth based on scorecard playoffs as tiebreakers. Seniors Ryan Valleck (12th, 89) and Carter Roth (90) were all-conference as well and the Tigers won with a score of 338.
Hillsboro senior Jack Prince shot 82 to place fourth. Herculaneum senior Jackson Goodwin and St. Vincent’s Garrett Brickhaus came in at 90 and were all-conference despite not finishing in the top 15.
“We had five guys play really well today; they were all all-conference and they’ve been working on it all year,” Festus head coach Dean Navratil said. “(Johnson’s) last couple of rounds have been his best.
“The course was in good shape. We got a lot of rain over the weekend and the course didn’t play too soft. The greens were in good shape. It was definitely a fair course and great weather.”
After Strattman graduates, he’ll continue playing golf at Mineral Area College in Park Hills. He was close to an eagle on No. 11.
“I used a seven-wood and tucked it 10 feet for eagle, but missed the putt and birdied,” Strattman said. “I definitely didn’t have my best stuff. I didn’t hit a lot of fairways and didn’t make a lot of putts outside six feet, but I had to hold on and scrape together a decent round.
“It (being a two-time JCAA champion) means a lot. I’m happy I was able to hold on and get the win. And it’s cool to be back-to-back.”
Dontrich, the No. 5 golfer for Festus this season, fired three birdies for his best round of the spring, bettering an 87 he shot at Crystal Highlands. He had consecutive birdies on holes No. 1 (par four) and No. 2 (five).
“On No. 1, I was on the green in two, and made about a 20-foot putt,” Dontrich said. “I was short of the green (on No. 2), hit (shot) three on and made a short putt. I was hitting every fairway, and I was putting real nice. The greens were bumpy and slower.”
On No. 16, a par four, Dontrich birdied when his second shot was close enough to the hole for a tap-in.
“Liam and Ryder picked our team up today,” Navratil said.
Prince is doing double duty for the Hillsboro golf and baseball teams this spring. On the diamond, he’s appeared as a pitcher in four games, with two starts. This is his third conference medal in golf, after finishing second in the JCAA tourney last year at 81 and third with an 82 in 2022.
“I hit a low drive – actually I almost missed the ball – and it went to the middle of the fairway,” Prince said in describing his birdie on No. 7. “I stuck a wedge from about 95 yards to three feet and made the putt.
“(The day) was good in the beginning; I had some struggles in the middle of the round and the last five or six holes, I was able to put a decent round together.”
The Hawks’ other medalists were junior Jack Raye (11th, 87) and seniors Dustin Storzum (14th, 88) and Robbi Grubbs (15th, 90).
In his three seasons as a JCAA golf medal-winner, St. Pius X senior Will Becker dropped his score from 94 to 91 to 85, good for the Lancers’ top finish at seventh. St. Pius finished fifth with a team score of 384 in their final JCAA golf tournament.
Windsor senior Nate Saeger (eighth, 87) was the Owls’ only medalist. But senior teammate Tony Pona began the round birdying No. 10.
“I hit my tee shot and it went right off the green,” Pona said. “But I thought I needed to get a chip shot pretty close, and it was like 50 yards away and I chipped it and it rolled in. I was watching it and thought, ‘That’s getting close to the hole,’ and it dropped.
“Putting is not my strong suit. I feel my irons and tee shots are pretty on-point. I have trouble with the short game.”
De Soto senior Cole McClinton and junior James Hankins each won their second consecutive conference medals. McClinton, another baseball-golf athlete, shot an 88, the same as he did a year ago in fourth place; this time he came in 10th. Hankins dropped four strokes from last year and finished ninth.