Capital golfer runs away with 3rd straight district title. But one last goal remains
Capital High senior Trevor Garus didn’t get off to the best start Wednesday. But the ending sure looked familiar.
He bogeyed the opening hole at the 5A District Three Tournament at Purple Sage Golf Course, then entered the back nine at even-par. But the UCLA commit tore up that back nine, shooting 3-under on the final six holes to hoist his third straight district championship trophy.
Garus shot a 3-under 68 for yet another title Wednesday, finishing three strokes ahead of Rocky Mountain’s Jacob McFarland. The round made him the first three-peat champ at the 5A boys district tournament since Meridian’s Jason Williams (2000-2002).
“It’s really competitive for me,” Garus said. “When it really matters is when I finally play my best golf.”
Garus found his best golf over the final six holes, birdieing No. 13, a par-3, with a 2-foot putt after a pinpoint tee shot. He added another birdie on No. 14, a par-4, before draining a 25-foot putt from the fringe to birdie the par-3 16th.
“Those last six holes especially, I really felt like I was playing in the moment,” Garus said. “I finally had those competitive juices going, where I was stepping over shots and envisioning what I wanted to do, then going out there and doing it.
“Watching putts roll, I can’t tell you a better feeling than that.”
The district championship adds to a banner year for the Capital senior. He won the Idaho men’s state amateur in July. He then qualified for and made the cut at the U.S. Amateur Championship before falling to the reigning NCAA freshman of the year in the round of 64.
“He’s a phenomenal kid,” Capital coach Matt Fraley said. “His golf game is at a level that I’ve never seen before. So it’s been fun, a lot of fun.”
But one achievement has eluded Garus thus far — a state championship.
Garus’ best finish at the 5A state tournament came last year, when he was third. But before he hangs up his Capital polo, he’ll take one last shot at becoming the school’s first state champ since 2003 at Lewiston Country Club on Oct. 6-7.
“That’s kind of my last goal for high school,” Garus said. “Coming off a good win here, I’m just planning on continuing my practice and just ramping it up. I want to be the most prepared (golfer) going into the event.”
MIDDLETON BOYS CAPTURE TEAM TITLE
The Vikings defended their home course Wednesday, shooting a combined 15-over 299 for their first district championship at the 5A level.
Cade Dean, Middleton’s No. 5 golfer, led the way, shooting a 1-over 72 to finish in third place. The junior edged Eagle’s Beau Shar in a playoff hole to break a tie for third.
Middleton also got a fifth-place finish from Nathan Munson (73) and an eighth-place finish from Noah Radford (75) to dethrone Eagle, the three-time defending district champ.
Boise finished in second place at 303. Rocky Mountain took third at 304, and Eagle punched its ticket to state at 307.
5A GIRLS DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Boise’s Kelly Goulet edged Rocky Mountain’s Jane Barry in a playoff, taking the district title after both shot a 1-under 70 Tuesday at Desert Canyon Golf Course in Mountain Home.
Goulet parred the playoff hole at No. 1, securing the senior and defending state runner-up her first postseason title.
Meanwhile, Rocky Mountain ran away with its fourth straight district team title. The Grizzlies shot a combined 18-over 302, edging second-place Eagle by 29 strokes. All four Rocky Mountain scorers finished inside the top 12, including Anna DaBell (fourth, 74), Ellian Hoopes (fifth, 77) and Maggie Urian (11th, 81).
Rocky Mountain has followed each of its past three district titles with state championships.
Eagle (331), Mountain View (340) and Boise (342) also qualified for the state tournament Oct. 6-7 at Lewiston Country Club.
4A DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Bishop Kelly swept the boys and girls team titles for the third straight year, and the Knights brought home both of the individual champions from River Birch Golf Course.
Cara Carter repeated atop the girls’ podium, shooting a 5-under 68 to run away with the district title by 10 strokes ahead of Vallivue’s Claire Hall. The Knights took four of the top five spots on the individual leaderboard with Jessi Moddie (79) at third, Sally DeFranco (82) at fourth and Maeve Fitzgerald (84) at fifth.
Their scores led Bishop Kelly to a 60-shot victory for its fourth straight girls district title at 21-over 313. Emmett (373) also punched its ticket to state.
Aidan Szentanai captured the boys individual title at 7-under 66, finishing six shots ahead of Vallivue’s Jaxson Wright, the defending district champ.
The Knights boys team also cruised to the title, shooting a 9-under 283 to finish 59 strokes ahead of Emmett in second place. All five Bishop Kelly boys finished inside the top six, including Andrew Moodie (72) at third, Will Comstock (72) at fourth, Nic Bischoff-Jones (73) at fifth and Dan Moodie (74) at sixth.
The Emmett (342) and Vallivue (357) boys teams will also head to next week’s state tournament at the University of Idaho Golf Club in Moscow.
BOYS GOLF
5A District Three Tournament
Wednesday
At Purple Sage, Middleton
Par 71
TEAM SCORES
Top 4 to state
1, Middleton 299. 2, Boise 303. 3, Rocky Mountain 304. 4, Eagle 307. 5, Timberline 312. 6, Capital 322. 7, Owyhee 324. 8, Borah 325. 9, Mountain View 325. 10, Centennial 344. 11, Kuna 356. 12, Meridian 366. 13, Nampa 392.
TOP 13 INDIVIDUALS
All to state
1, Trevor Garus, Capital, 68
2, Jacob McFarland, Rocky Mtn, 71
3, Cade Dean, Middleton, 72 (won playoff)
4, Beau Sahr, Eagle, 72
t-5, Zach Shipp, Eagle, 73
t-5, Nathan Munson, Middleton, 73
7, Reid Hoppock, Boise, 74
t-8, Noah Radford, Middleton, 75
t-8, Cameron Downie, Owyhee, 75
t-8, Reid Piron, Boise, 75
t-11, Jack Bureau, Boise, 76
t-11, Isaac Williams, Borah, 76
t-11, Chad Gibbs, Rocky Mtn, 76
t-11, Aiden Meyer, Rocky Mtn, 76
t-11, Anthony Goodson, Timberline, 76
4A District Three Tournament
Wednesday
At River Birch, Star
Par 73
TEAM SCORES
Top 3 to state
1, Bishop Kelly 283. 2, Emmett 342. 3, Vallivue 357. 4, Skyview 363. 5, Caldwell 375. 6, Columbia 378. 7, Ridgevue 383.
TOP 7 INDIVIDUALS
All to state
1, Aidan Szentanai, Bishop Kelly, 66
2, Jaxson Wright, Vallivue, 72
3, Andrew Moodie, Bishop Kelly, 72
4, Will Comstock, Bishop Kelly, 72
5, Nic Bischoff, Jones, Bishop Kelly, 73
6, Dan Moodie, Bishop Kelly, 74
7, Brady Dion, Columbia, 75
GIRLS GOLF
5A District Three Tournament
Tuesday
At Desert Canyon, Mountain Home
Par 71
TEAM SCORES
Top 4 to state
1, Rocky Mountain 302. 2, Eagle 331. 3, Mountain View 340. 4, Boise 342. 5, Middleton 350. 6, Timberline 396. 7, Borah 407. 8, Capital 412. 9, Meridian 425. 10, Owyhee 428. 11, Nampa 498. 12, Kuna 508.
TOP 12 INDIVIDUALS
All to state
1, Kelly Goulet, Boise, 70 (won playoff)
2, Jane Barry, Rocky Mtn, 70
3, Ella Arnzen, Timberline, 73
4, Anna DaBell, Rocky Mtn, 74
5, Ellian Hoopes, Rocky Mtn, 77
6, Eliana Cho, Owyhee, 78
t-7, Indie Taylor, Eagle, 79
t-7, Haleigh, Thompson, Meridian, 79
t-9, Olivia Lammey, Middleton, 80
t-9, Olivia Lodge, Eagle, 80
t-11, Sara Andrus, Mtn View, 81
t-11, Maggie Urian, Rocky Mtn, 81
4A District Three Tournament
Wednesday
At River Birch, Star
Par 73
TEAM SCORES
Top 2 to state
1, Bishop Kelly 313. 2, Emmett 373. 3, Vallivue 385. 4, Skyview 432. 5, Columbia 444.
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
All to state
1, Cara Carter, Bishop Kelly, 68
2, Claire Hall, Vallivue, 78
3, Jessi Moodie, Bishop Kelly, 79
4, Sally DeFranco, Bishop Kelly, 82
5, Maeve Fitzgerald, Bishop Kelly, 84
This story was originally published September 27, 2023 at 9:08 PM.
