GHS golf coach Ryan Casalman believes his Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs could make a run at qualifying for the state tournament this fall. Also the head coach for junior high boys basketball, Casalman takes over as the Lady Bulldogs’ golf coach after leading the GHS boys last season. But despite some low numbers – only five players – Casalman believes his young ladies could surprise this season. Several returning players among the boys also bode well for the Bulldogs and their chances of making the postseason.
The GHS boys have 11 players including three seniors, six juniors, and two sophomores. They are Everson Adams, Jayden Garnes, Jaxon Cole, Dean Hogeland, Cooper Hogeland, Dace Drennan, Blake Christiansen, Tanner Miller, Jake Gigerich, Wyatt Frye, and Carson Wade. The Lady Bulldogs have just five players starting with Cambree Shrum, Jordin Jackson, Addie Dugan, Journey Clements, and Addi Phonepradith.
“We’ve got to get our numbers up,” said Coach Casalman of his Lady Bulldogs, who’ve had three different coaches in recent years since the retirement of longtime head coach Ronnie Williams. Uniting both girls and boys teams under the leadership of Casalman should help with recruiting and enticing players of both genders to try out in the future, but the fact is that more males are drawn to the sport of golf than females. Yet the Lady Bulldogs have performed well in the past, competing for and winning multiple state championships. That can happen again, and their new coach is high on their potential for the future.
“All these girls are underclassmen, and I know we have two more girls coming next year, so we will be closer to that 10 number next [season],” he said. “We’ve got three returnees and two new ones, so we’ve got some girls who have been in it and competed [before]. We’re just trying to get better every day.”
Cambree Shrum and Jordin Jackson both return from last season and Journey Clements played as a ninth grader and returns for her junior season, besides playing basketball. Addie Dugan and Addi Phonepradith are this season’s newcomers, both sophomores. Shrum, Jackson, and Clements are juniors.
Casalman revealed that his teams started practice the second week of July, shortly after the end of the AAA mandated dead period, and Addi Phonepradith surprised him by showing up the first day of practice, giving him five girls. As for his top female golfer, the coach was adamant that Cambree Shrum is at the head of the GHS class, as seen in her early scores this season.
“She’s our best by far,” said Casalman. “At the big tournament in Mountain Home she finished fifth overall, and that’s a good tournament. Journey and Jordin are pretty close. Journey is probably a little bit ahead right now. She’s played golf on and off since ninth grade, she just wasn’t on the golf team [last year]. So she has a little experience and her scores just keep dropping every match we play. I’m happy with the improvement they’ve [both] shown early.
“But we’re playing to try to be our best the last week in September and first week in October,” said the coach of the looming postseason including the conference and state tournaments. The league tournament will be played at Big Creek Country Club in Mountain Home on Tuesday, September 24th. Practice rounds will be held the day before. The top four conference schools, both girls and boys, will qualify for the state tournament, along with a few individual players based on their scores.
Turning his attention to the Bulldogs, Casalman said, “We’ve got 11 [players] on the competitive squad, and all 11 were on our [team] last year. We lost one senior last season, so I told the other 11 that they are on the team and playing for a spot [on the varsity], and it’s made for some competitive practices and good competition to try to get in that top five.”
Casalman is starting his second season as the boys golf coach, so he is quite familiar with all his players, including Everson Adams. “He’s our #1 [guy],” said the coach. “If you shoot in the mid-to-low 70s you are a good golfer on the high school level, and that’s where he’s been. Everson is our clearcut #1.
“The surprise has been Jackson Cole. He’s never really played until after baseball was over in March, and he’s been a real steady #2. He and Dean Hogeland and Carson Wade are all battling for those two, three, and four spots, and our five, six, and seven [guys] are all right there trying to bump those top five. There’s not a guy in our top 11 that doesn’t have a chance, but those other guys have shot so well early that the rest are going to need some really low scores to move up.
“Dean and Cooper Hogeland are twins and both were in our top five last year,” said Casalman. “Carson Wade is a 10th grader, but as a ninth grader last year he wasn’t anywhere on the radar. Now suddenly, he kind of exploded. We started practice in July at seven in the morning, and when I would [arrive] he would already be there. And the guy running the course [Vache Grasse] said [Carson] would leave when he did [at the end of the day]. He’s put a lot of time into it and really improved his game. Dace Drennan has a chance to slip in there in that top five as well,” said the coach, adding that Drennan started slow due to an injury this summer.
Looking ahead to the postseason, Casalman was realistic in his assessment, admitting that it’s easier for his girls to place in the conference tournament and qualify for state than for his Bulldogs, due to the level of competition they will face across the league. Greenbrier was replaced by Farmington, joining Greenwood, Mountain Home, Harrison, Siloam Springs, Russellville, Van Buren, and Alma in the 5A West. “[The] Harrison and Mountain Home [boys] are probably at the top with the rest of us bunched up in the middle,” he predicted.
“In girls play, Russellville had a strong squad last year and they are still good, along with Mountain Home and Harrison. But we are pretty competitive. We’ve [already] beaten Alma and Siloam Springs, but we’re going to have to beat Russellville, Mountain Home, or Harrison to get a [playoff] spot,” said the coach.
Early results
The Ultimate Auto Tournament was held at Mountain Home's Big Creek Country Club on August 5th and 6th. The Greenwood boys finished seventh and the GHS ladies finished fifth. Everson Adams shot a two-day total of 258 and finished tied for 8th. Cambree Shrum shot a two-day total of 180 and finished sixth overall.
Both teams competed with Alma and Clarksville at River Valley Golf Course on August 13th, the first week of school. The Bulldogs tied for first and Everson Adams shot a 72 over 18 holes, while the Lady Bulldogs finished second and Cambree Shrum shot an 82.
Ryder Cup vs. Southside
On Wednesday and Thursday, August 21-22, the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs played Fort Smith Southside in their annual Ryder Cup competition patterned after the professional golf event of the same name between the U.S. and Europe. The first round was played on Wednesday at the Ben Geren course in Fort Smith. Thursday’s action was held at Vache Grasse in Greenwood.
The first day the Southsiders defeated Greenwood, 4-1. The duo of Hunter and DeLassus beat Greenwood’s Everson Adams and Jaxon Cole while the Mavericks’ King and Borengasser beat Bulldogs Dean Hogeland and Carson Wade. Southside’s team of Wasinger and Southerland defeated Greenwood’s duo of Cooper Hogeland and Jake Gigerich.
On the ladies’ side, Greenwood’s Cambree Shrum and Journey Clements beat the Southside partners Haney and King while Lady Mavericks French and Duncan beat Greenwood’s Jordin Jackson and Addi Phonepradith.
The next day, on their home course, the GHS boys and girls were much more competitive, but still fell to the Southsiders, 6-4. Hunter and Wasinger defeated Greenwood’s Everson Adams and Carson Wade while the duo of King and DeLassus beat Greenwood’s brother combo of Dean and Cooper Hogeland. The Bulldogs got their lone victory when Jaxon Cole and Jake Gigerich teamed to beat Southside’s Borengasser and Southerland.
The GHS ladies won both of their matches. Lady Bulldogs Cambree Shrum and Addi Phonepradith beat Haney and King of Southside while Journey Clements and Jordin Jackson defeated the Lady Mavs’ duo of French and Duncan.
Recent matches
Last week began with a conference match on Monday the 26th against several teams, including some from the 5A West. Besides Greenwood there was Harrison, Russellville, Van Buren, Pottsville, Farmington, Dover, and Providence Academy. In boys action Greenwood finished 3rd in team play and Everson Adams was the low medalist with a score of 73. The GHS girls finished 3rd in team play. Cambree Shrum earned 4th place individual honors with a personal best score of 79.
On Tuesday last week the junior varsity boys and varsity girls played Alma at Dyer. In boys action, Blake Christiansen shot a 46 over nine holes, Tanner Miller fired a 47, while Wyatt Frye and Jayden Garnes both shot 48. The Lady Bulldogs were led by Cambree Shrum with a top score of 40. She was followed by Journey Clements at 47, Jordin Jackson at 52, Addi Phonepradith with a 55, and Addie Dugan at 63.
In high school girls varsity play the top three scores are counted toward the team total. The top four scores are counted for the boys. A scheduled match at Clarksville last Thursday was cancelled. After Labor Day this week, Greenwood’s only action on the links will be on Wednesday, a conference match at Eagle Crest in Alma.