Spencer and Chamberlain face-off to pace Buffalos’ top team and individuals with identical 72s

Valley, number one-ranked linksters, sport their brand-new team shirts on their home Thunderbird course. Team members book-ended by the tournaments first place co-leaders are (l-r): Cooper Chamberlain, Zane Monnett, Bryce Brinkerhoff, seventh-place Waylon Spencer celebrating his 15th birthday, Boede Cox and Ivan Spencer. Valley High School photos by Jerry Melrose.

On Thursday, April 7, Valley hosted its 1A Region 20 tournament of seven boys and six girls teams, in which the home-course boys claimed top team honors tallying 305 strokes, followed by Piute’s 317, Wayne’s 321, MIlford’s 345, Bryce Valley’s 364, Diamond Ranch Academy’s 367 and Panguitch’s 372.

Teeing-off from above the Thunderbird pond, during her fourth career tournament, Rachel Cox shares about her game, “It’s a little nerve-racking. For the most part, I just, like: every hole, every swing is a new swing. And I just seem to not get focused on the last swing if I pooch the next one: a new swing every time. And I got sixth! It’s good to not get good at something, and then, get better at it. Playing golf is going to make me a better basketball player, because it’s such a different game.”

The girls, on the other hand, were unable to field the required foursome, since newcomer Ruth Cox (as was Hunter Barrick) were away in Philadelphia on the school’s annual American Heritage Tour. In her absence, all three teammates placed in the top 10, with #2 Charle Spencer’s 95, jockeying once again behind Panguitch’s Adelaide Englestead at 90. Rachel Cox’s 103 placed #6 and Kaylee Brinkerhoff into #10 with 109.

In the spirit of serendipity, both Ivan Spencer and Cooper Chamberlain, friends since elementary days, shared the top individuals spotlight with 72 each, while Waylon Spencer celebrated his 15th birthday being gifted with 79 for seventh-place. Completing the team score was Boede Cox’s 82, along with Zane Monnett’s 89 and Bryce Brinkerhoff’s 114.

The two top contenders clubbed it out in true mock-WWE fashion with Spencer stating, “It’s not much of a fight. I mean, I didn’t play very good today. I’ve been sick, you know. I’m just getting back into the groove. Next tournament, it’s not going to even be close.”

To which, Chamberlain counters, “There’s no way he’s beating me! He beat me the first two, but now I’m catching-up. He’s scared.”

“Not really,” says Spencer, “we’re on the same team. I mean, if we keep shooting head-to-head, it’s alright with me. We’ll keep winning tournaments!”

Then, Chamberlain responds, “I don’t really care who wins-out of us individually. If we keep doing good, we take home the championship!”

With Spencer adding, “At the end of the day, we still shot just as good as we did last time, that same score, 305.” Stay tuned.

“You know,” says Coach Jeremy Chamberlain, “that actually surprises me, because two of our younger-classmen, freshmen, had to score today because one of our top scorers, (Hunter Cox) the only senior, got hurt. So, it does my heart good to see them step-up and take his place, if we shot the same score as before. So, that’s fantastic! Couldn’t ask anything better than that. And really good for Waylon!”

Be watching to see how Brittyn Heaton and Julia Hoyt come along after Spring Break. They’ve promised Jeremy two weeks practice to determine whether they enjoy the sport enough to continue.