High school golf preview: The top players to watch as an unprecedented fall season begins
Idaho high school golf enters a new era this school year.
Teams in the 5A and 4A classification teed off last week, marking a first-of-its-kind split with the state’s 3A and 2A programs, who will continue to play in the spring.
The move comes as schools struggle to find tee times at packed golf courses, particularly in the growing Treasure Valley. The situation grew so dire that the Southern Idaho Conference considered withdrawing its golf teams from the Idaho High School Activities Association and playing an unsanctioned season in the fall, Boise Activities Director Jon Ruzicka and West Ada Activities Director Jason Warr told the IHSAA board last August.
Moving to the late summer and early fall hopefully opens up more courses as weekend hackers turn their attention to football and hunting seasons. But how much it will help remains to be seen. And it pushes the state meets into October, when the weather is often unpredictable — especially in places such as Rexburg and Idaho Falls, which host the 5A and 4A state tournaments this year on Oct. 7-8.
No matter when they tee off, though, the Treasure Valley remains packed with title contenders. The boys’ side is littered with decorated golfers, while the girls’ race is wide open after many of the top players graduated.
We surveyed the Treasure Valley’s coaches and selected the top players to watch below.
TOP BOYS GOLFERS
Reid Piron, Boise
After finishing outside the top 10 at district, the then-freshman took the state tournament by storm. He became Boise’s first individual state champ since 1996 with a 1-over 143 last year at RedHawk. But he’ll have plenty of competition as he tries to repeat.
Wheaton Ennis, Eagle
He won the 5A state title as a freshman in 2021, then played last spring in Arizona. But the junior returned to Idaho and defended his Idaho Junior Amateur title earlier this month by going 15-under through three rounds at RedHawk, finishing six strokes ahead of second place.
Will Strong, Boise
The senior finished a stroke behind Piron for the 5A title in the spring, giving him his second top-10 finish after taking sixth as a sophomore. The duo led the Brave to their first team state title since 1991.
Trevor Garus, Capital
The junior set Falcon Crest on fire on a snowy day last spring, shooting a six-under 65 to run away with the 5A district title. The next closest competitor finished eight strokes back. He added an eighth-place finish at state the next week.
Curtis Seidel, Middleton
The defending 4A state champ moves up to the 5A state level with the rest of the Vikings. The junior fired the only sub-par round over two days at Lakeview in May, and he enters the season with an offer from Northwest Nazarene.
Bobby Kincaid, Nampa
The Bulldogs’ first individual district champ since 2005 and a third-place finisher at state also moves up to the 5A classification. He plays his junior golf in West Virginia, where he finished second in the state’s junior amateur last month by a stroke.
Beau Sahr, Eagle
He contended for district and state titles as a freshman last spring, finishing second at district and then third at state. A year older and a year wiser, he remains a threat to vault to the top of the leaderboard every time he tees it up.
TOP GIRLS GOLFERS
Margaret Smock, Bishop Kelly
The soccer standout will split her time between the two sports this fall. The senior already has a host of medals to her name. She swept the 4A district and state titles as a sophomore, and then added second-place finishes at both meets last spring.
Kelly Goulet, Boise
The junior recorded top-10 finishes at district and state in her first two trips to both events, including a fourth-place finish at state in the spring. She’ll look to break through to the top of the medal stand after several key 5A graduations.
Emry Gibbs, Rocky Mountain
The top returner for the reigning state champ will try to lead the Grizzlies to their third straight team title at the 5A state tournament. The senior also has a pair of top-10 individual finishes at state under her belt, finishing 10th as a sophomore and fifth last year.
Claire Hall, Vallivue
She broke out as a freshman in the spring, ripping the 4A district title away from Smock and then adding a fifth-place finish at state. A strong summer on the junior circuit has her poised to carry that momentum into the fall.
Ella Arnzen, Timberline
Another freshman who burst onto the scene in the spring, she took fifth at the 5A district meet and then seventh at the state. She’s received invites to several national events. Now she’ll look to climb atop the high school leaderboard.
Olivia Lammey, Middleton
A leader the past two seasons, she headlines the Vikings yet again this fall. The junior’s steady play captured the third-place medal at the 4A district meet in the spring, and she followed that with a seventh-place finish at state.
TEAM PREVIEWS
The top athletes to watch from each team around Southwest Idaho. Teams not listed did not respond to the Idaho Statesman’s preseason survey.
CLASS 5A
Boise: Reid Piron, so.; Will Strong, sr.; Kelly Goulet, jr.
Centennial: Landon Gerrish, sr.
Eagle: Beau Sahr, so.; Wheaton Ennis, jr.
Kuna: Max Wendel, jr.; Dakota Taylor, sr.
Meridian: Dylan Rodgers, sr.; Forrest Glenn, sr.; Katie Yu, so.
Middleton: Curtis Seidel, jr.; Olivia Lammey, jr.; Cade Dean, so.; Luke Olsen, jr.
Mountain View: Nevea Whitaker, sr.; Sammy Saroyan, sr.;
Nampa: Bobby Kincaid, sr.
Owyhee: Weston Herman, sr.; Tucker Dilks, so.; Mason Gibbons, so.
Rocky Mountain: Emry Gibbs, sr.
Timberline: Ryan Shepherd, so.; Ella Arnzen, so.
CLASS 4A
Bishop Kelly: Margaret Smock, sr.; Jessi Moodie, so.; Maeve Fitzgerald, so.; Ayden Dyson, sr.; Niclas Bischoff-Jones, so.; Dallas Jackson, sr.; Andrew Moodie, jr.
Caldwell: Isaac Villegas, jr.
Columbia: Bryson Forest, sr.; Travis Swopes, sr.; Brady Dion, jr.
Skyview: Jordyn Horak, jr.; Jhett Morledge, so.
Vallivue: Claire Hall, so.
This story was originally published August 23, 2022 at 1:19 PM.
