Junior Jaydon Carruthers took first at the AVCTL I golf tournament on Monday at Derby Golf and Country Club.

The Panthers took second as a team and will now play in the Class 6A regionals on May 15 in Dodge City.

“They did great,” coach Tim Herrs said. “… They had some holes that obviously could have turned out a lot worse for us and they’re able to kind of shake those off and keep playing good golf…. That’s where we knew that we would hopefully be in first but, you know, (I’m) still proud of them for sticking it out and shooting what they shot.” 

Carruthers, who started playing golf as a freshman, was happy to win. Although he was nervous, he held it together in the playoff.  

“Whenever you are in pressure situations like I just was, you kind of just have to calm down, take a deep breath and pull through,” Carruthers said.

Herrs saw significant improvement on Monday compared to when Carruthers first began golfing.

“Jaydon played great on the front nine and struggled on the back nine,” Herrs said. “But, you know, he got to the playoffs and he won it, so that’s the ultimate goal, (and) he accomplished it. It just may have been a little rough there for a while…. That shows how mentally he has matured over the last year or two, because two years ago, he wouldn’t have brought it back.… He was able to steady himself and get it to where he could be the champion.”

After starting the season strong and then having ups and down, the Panthers have bonded.

“It’s a lot easier when you’re friendly with those guys and really good friends like they are,” Herrs said.

They hope to end the season with a trip to the 6A tournament. 

“I feel good; we’ve got a lot of momentum as a team, as well, so as long as we do good and everybody performs to the best of their ability, we could compete for a state title,” Carruthers said.

Check out photos from the tournament below.
Boys League Golf Tournament (Photos by Joselyn Steele)