The Smithers Golf and Country Club hosted a day of high school golf last Saturday, as teams from Mount Elizabeth in Kitimat, Prince Rupert Secondary, Smithers Secondary, and for the first time in quite some time, Bulkley Valley Christian School hit the course for 18 holes.
The home and host team, SSS, finished with 327, the best score of the day, followed by Mount Elizabeth at 332, then BVCS with 355, and finally PRSS with 380.
BVCS coach Ron Van Driel said he was very pleased the school had enough players to field a team. A school needs at least four golfers to compete in a playday, and five for Provincials. BVCS brought five of their seven golfers last Saturday, and Van Driel said the team is definitely showing some promise.
“My top couple golfers are pretty decent, and we’ve got some good young guys coming up,” he said.
SSS coach Dana Gorbahn agreed, and said he looks forward to some closer to home competition.
“It was great to see a full team from Bulkley Valley Christian School. They will be a competitive team in the future,” he said.
Van Driel said he was glad to see interest at the school coming from a wide range of ages, “so the younger kids can look forward to doing something when it comes to golf.”
Gorbahn was glad the Smithers Secondary team played well, with the best combined score of the day, but said he was a bit disappointed the team didn’t do even better, considering the home course advantage.
The top golfer of the day was Smithers’ Kaleb Gorbahn, with a score of 79. Brayden Taekema from BVCS finished only a shot behind in second place overall, with a score of 80. His teammate Adam Veenstra also finished in the 80s, with a score of 89.
The Smithers coach pointed out another player with a stellar second half for SSS. Dustin Keehn finished the day with a score of 82.
“He and Kaleb stepped it up a notch after nine holes, to shoot an impressive back nine of two over,” said Gorbahn.
This weekend Terrace will host, since Kitimat’s course is still snowed in. Zones are rapidly approaching the following week, so only one more week of tournament play remains for golfers to perfect their game.