So it was written Saturday, May 14, that a Farmer shall lead them.
Sophomore Seth Farmer, a transfer from Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale, shot a 74 both days of the Division III tournament to pace Sedona Red Rock High School golf to second in the state.
“This is the best finish in 10 years,” assistant coach Mike Webster said. “We beat out 62 other teams to get here.”
Farmer tied Northwest Christian High School’s Skylar Adams for sixth, while Webster’s son, Keagan, shot a team-best three-under-par in the first round Friday, May 13, on the Antelope Hills South Golf Course.
Webster, who tied for ninth place with R.J. David, from champion Valley Christian High School, was named second-team all-State, along with Farmer.
“We knew all along the Valley Christian All-Stars were out of reach and should probably be playing in Division I,” said SRRHS co-coach and program founder Dennis Mobley. “But we set our sights on second place and wound up beating everyone else in Division III.
“For the eighth time in our 22-year history, we won the State Public School Golf Championship — a feat we are quite proud of.”
Following a regular season in which the Scorpions lost just once, to the champion Trojans, they hung on to beat Scottsdale Preparatory Academy by three strokes.
“Scottsdale Prep went in ranked ahead of us,” Mobley said, “and we just did hold on at the end to defeat them.”
Webster, like many of his teammates, shot an 81 on the windy, tree-lined north course May 14.
“The wind was a factor in day two,” he said, “but then again, everyone was facing the same conditions. Over the course of the season, we get used to playing in hot, cold, wind and varying altitudes.
“The trophy the kids are holding was the manifestation of a yearlong goal and means everything to them.”
Junior Neil Smith shot a 79 on May 13, while sophomore Julian Travaglia — whom Mobley thinks will “really move up the team ladder in the future” — scored a 170.
“He has tremendous athletic ability,” Mobley said. “I’m sure that we will be a force in Division III golf again next year.”
For individual golfers’ state scores and places, please see the Wednesday, May 18, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.
