Mowery named all-state, places 8th at 2A state championships

With the state competition in the books, the inaugural season of Greybull-Riverside’s golf team was a success. The Class 2A Championships was held last Tuesday and Wednesday, September 22 and 23, in Evanston at the Purple Sage Golf Course.

“State was an awesome experience for everyone. All seven of the kids that we took had a great time. For the most part, I’m pretty excited about how everyone did,” said Coach Logan Burningham. “We’re a bunch of freshmen and sophomores that hadn’t got to experience the state tournament ever, so for us it was a learning experience. We were hoping to get a couple kids in the top 10. We got one, which was good.”

Greybull High School sophomore Makinli Mowery placed eighth and was the team’s only all-state finisher. 

“She was kind of sick and not feeling that great. She started off rough, and then about three holes into her second round, she kind of made a turn, and once she made that turn, she played the last 15 holes really well, which ended up putting her in position to place at state. Which is an awesome thing to do as a sophomore,” said the coach. “It’s going to be exciting to watch her over the next two years.”

Severe weather interrupted Tuesday’s first round and forced unfinished holes into Wednesday morning.

“The weather was terrible. Monday’s practice round was awesome, perfect weather. But Tuesday we got through about 16 holes and about that time, that lightning started coming in with the rain and the hail … there was about an inch of hail on the course that night,” said Burningham. 

Organizers chose to have the athletes finish their last few holes Wednesday morning before they started their second round. 

 “It took a little while longer to get through that second round, which led us to getting home late. We got home at about 1 a.m. Thursday morning,” said the coach. 

At the championships each of the golfers had a marker – an adult that followed them on every hole – watching over their play. 

“We haven’t had any experience with anything like that,” said Burningham. “It was just a lot of new for us … it’s going to be big experience-wise to have that under our belt, and then hopefully over the next two or three years get a chance to build on that and hopefully meet our ultimate goal to win state as those guys get to be older.”

GHS junior Shelby Hunt golfed 30 strokes better than any of her rounds this season. Hunt placed 12th out of 18 golfers. “Out of all my kids down there, she was by far the most improved,” added the coach. “She just hit the heck out of the ball. She was in a good mood each day.”

At the start of the season, the coach explained, it was hard for Hunt to hit the ball and consistently play a 36-hole tournament. “It’s just cool to see kids grow like that from the start of the season to the end of the season, and I think it lit a fire under her that she can do it. Shelby has what it takes to be good at it,” said Burningham.

The G-R girls’ team did not place as five golfers are required. This year’s 2A team title went to Thermopolis. 

BOYS TEAM

The G-R boys team placed sixth out of 10 teams with a total stroke count of 850. This year’s 2A team title went to Wright who shot 695 as a team. 

GHS sophomore Tristan Crabtree placed the highest for the Hounddogs, 21st out of 50 golfers.

“Tristan was disappointed in how he played. Not finishing top 10 and shooting two of the highest scores he shot all year. But again, I think there was a lot of stress with state, and he didn’t play quite as good as he wanted to. I think he’s going to be bouncing back and he’s going to be fine next year and that first year learning curve should hopefully be over next year for him,” said the coach. 

GHS freshman Marshall Brown followed closely behind placing 23rd. “Marshall played really well. He shot up to his potential,” said Burningham. The coach’s goal was for Brown to shoot under 105, and he shot under that both days.

Burlington High School freshman William Preator placed 29th. “He had a rules violation on the first or second hole of his first round, and after that rules violation, it put a damper on him, and he had a hard time bouncing back from it,” said the coach. “I felt bad that something like that happened early on in the round to throw him off, but again, it’s a learning curve, and I think you learn from the situation, and he’ll be better because of it.”

GHS freshman Brendyn DeShazer placed 33rd. “He shot one good round and one high round where he was a little over what we were expecting of him. But again, this is his first year ever picking up a golf club. I’m really excited for Brendyn’s future and what he could bring to our team. I think he’s going to keep getting better and better,” said Burningham. 

To round out the G-R boys team of five was GHS junior Aaron Corral, who placed 34th just behind DeShazer.

“Aaron shot a good score for his abilities. He was disappointed thinking he should have been better, but I told all those guys, that Evanston course is tough, and if you don’t hit the ball straight down the middle every time you’re going to be in trouble and add strokes to your game. In the end he played really solid for a brand-new golfer who’s never picked up a club,” said the coach. 

SPRING GOLF

High School golf in Wyoming is split into two seasons. The fall season lasted just over six weeks, while the spring season is expected to last five weeks and include a conference championship rather than a statewide tournament. Instead of facing 10 to 11 teams at state, G-R will face five to six teams at conference. 

 G-R’s golf team will resume practice on March 29, 2027. The team hopes to host a spring event at Midway Golf Club, tentatively around April 16.

Spring golf is open to returning participants and students who did not play in the fall; interested athletes should contact coach Burningham or let the GHS office know. Students outside of Big Horn County School District No. 3 should contact their athletic directors. 

STATE RESULTS

BOYS

21st – Tristan Crabtree: round one 94, round two 101. Total 195.

23rd – Marshall Brown: round one 102, round two 99. Total 201. 

29th – William Preator: round one 111, round two 117. Total 228. 

33rd – Brendyn DeShazer: round one 110, round two 122. Total 232. 

34th – Aaron Corral: round one 118, round two 116. Total 234.

GIRLS 

8th – Makinli Mowery: round one 120, round two 106. Total 226. 

12th – Shelby Hunt: round one 132, round two 119. Total 251.