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Front Royal (Aug. 8, 2006) – Potomac Falls junior Wyatt Endres had played Shenandoah Valley Golf Course last year at the Region II tournament so he knew going into Wednesday’s Curly Licklider Invitational that he was going to leave his driver in the bag as he played the course’s tight fairways.
Endres’ strategy paid off has he shot a 72 for a three-stroke victory over Broad Run sophomore Kevin Yerks. Potomac Falls tied Forest Park with a 317 score for first but officially lost a tiebreaker for the team title.
Four area squads place in the top six of the 18-team tournament with Valley third (319), County fifth (321) and Briar Woods sixth (322). Heritage, resting some starters after Tuesday’s Dulles District mini-tournament victory, finished ninth (323) and Broad Run was 10th (324). Freedom was 13th (346) and Dominion placed 14th (348). Park View and Stone Bridge were the only Loudoun teams to not attend.
“Last year at regionals I shot a 75 on this course so I had the mindset today that I didn’t want to hit driver. I hit iron off the tees and kept the ball in the fairways,” said Endres.
Endres came in fifth this summer at the Middle Atlantic Junior Boys tournament by shooting a 75-77 but the junior shot 79 in the season-opening district mini-tournament at Raspberry Falls, finishing eight strokes behind Valley’s Danny Bosse who shot a 71.
“I used my driver more often yesterday. I was playing good early but my short game was not on. Today I put it all together,” said Endres.
A closer look at how the eight teams from the area did Wednesday:
Potomac Falls (317): Nick Vico, who tied for fourth with a 75 Tuesday, shot a 79. Chris Abt, who went out in 37 Wednesday, had his second straight strong showing. The Panthers have a strong trio in Endres-Vico-Abt and will be looking for Zach Medlock, Ryan Yakscoe or Geoff Kaiser step up and score well in the fourth slot.
Loudoun Valley (319): Stone Bridge transfer Matt Wallace had the low score at 79. Bosse, a day after winning the season-opening tournament, shot 81. The Vikes showed great depth with three players at 80 — Jake Faircloth, Brian Hickey and Bosse’s freshman brother, Zach.
Loudoun County (321): The Raiders were back on track after a slight stumble Wednesday. Defending district champion Kevin McLister, who shot 73 Tuesday, came in at 79 but the Raiders showed strong depth with four players between 80 and 82 — Derek Bulman, Andrew Dyer, Dan Jackson and Adam Peterson. Jackson is just a freshman and he shot 38 on the front nine Wednesday. The dual match season starts Thursday and the Raiders are almost in a “must-win” situation against Heritage as they need to make-up ground after finishing fifth in the district mini-tournament.
Briar Woods (322): The Falcons continue to be the surprise of the season. A pair of sophomores shot 78 – TJ Bailey and Robbie Mitchell while Carl Brendes and Michael Birmingham each shot 83.
Heritage (323): Pride coach John Dugger took the opportunity to give three players a start that didn’t appear in Tuesday’s Dulles District mini-tournament win. Sean Ryan shot 78 with Christian Darden (80), Chris Cowne (82) and Mike Boyer (83) supporting. The Pride have an important dual match Thursday against Loudoun County.
Broad Run (324): Sophomore Kevin Yerks showed why some think he will be challenging for the district title at the end of the season as he shot 75, including 36 on the back nine. Spartan senior Mike Moser had an off day but Tim Sanders (82), Tyler Campos (83) and Bryan Buckner (84) pitched in.
Freedom (346): Senior Kyle Howard will once again be the rock for this team as he shot 80 Wednesday. Two Eagle freshman — Alex Choi (83) and Tyler Blake (84) had impressive rounds.
Dominion (348): Sophomore Dalton Brown went out in 38 and finished at 79. Fellow sophomore Michael Biller shot a 86 for the Titans that will be looking for consistency in their scores this season.
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