East boys golf team looks to reverse fortunes at state
Sep. 14—CHEYENNE — This season has been a near carbon copy of last fall for the Cheyenne East boys golf team.
The Thunderbirds have won all four team events they've played in entering the Wyoming Class 4A state tournament, which starts Friday at the Powder Horn in Sheridan. Last fall, East won three of five tournaments and placed second in the other two. All five players who teed it up at last year's state tournament also returned to the lineup this fall.
That's where the T-Birds want the similarities between the teams to end.
That's because the state tournament was East's worst of the 2022 campaign. It entered the state tournament eying a state title and instead finished seventh in the eight-team event.
"It started really good, and then it turned quickly," T-Birds senior Tayten Zitek said. "I hit one bad shot, had one bad hole, and next thing I know, I'm in quick sand and just hitting one bad shot after another. I couldn't get out of it.
"... I think all of us have gotten that out of our minds, put it behind us and have treated every tournament as its own thing."
East coach Todd Oswald chalked much of the struggles up to the nerves that accompany playing in a state tournament. The weight of the expectations the T-Birds created with their stellar team scores also contributed to their woes.
Managing emotions has been a point of emphasis all season, Oswald said.
"We've spent so much time talking about not letting one bad shot or one bad hole ruin your round," the coach said. "They've done a good job all year of minimizing the damage."
The T-Birds won the season-opening Douglas Invite with rounds of 305 and 308. They beat two-time reigning Class 3A champion Riverton by a single stroke. The victory reminded them how good they could be and set the tone for the fall.
"It lit a bit of a fire under the kids," Oswald said. "They knew we were going to be good, but to beat a really good team like Riverton really boosted these guys."
East has gotten used to competition. Not only did it return all five players from last season's state tournament team, it added senior James Trask, who placed 20th individually at state for Laramie last fall. That suddenly meant six strong players were vying for the five spots on the team at each tournament.
"Everyone has been shooting close to the same scores and really battling each other," junior Daniel Meyer said. "Whatever we can do to compete with each other, we're doing it because we want to make each other better. ... You couldn't really make any errors during qualifying because there was always somebody behind you ready to play.
"We've taken practice more seriously and pushed each other more. This is the last time this team is playing together, and we want to end with a state championship."
Trask, Zitek, Kael Lissman and Isaak Erickson are all seniors this season. Erickson won't be able to compete at state because he was disqualified from the East Conference qualifying tournament after realizing he inadvertently signed an incorrect scorecard. Meyer is the lone player from this year's team who will play for East next season.
There have been moments Oswald has noticed the weekly competition becoming mentally taxing. However, he's never seen his players do anything other than support each other.
"They all practiced together all season long and played rounds together whenever and wherever they could," the coach said. "They played in tournaments to make themselves better. They really competed with each other, but they've also been great teammates."
On the court
Postseason tennis play starts Friday. Cheyenne South is hosting the South Regional. The finals will start at 8 a.m. Saturday.
Class 4A Southeast Quadrant play started Wednesday night and continues today when South plays at Cheyenne Central and East hosts Laramie. Both of those matches are slated to start at 6 p.m.
Central plays at Laramie at 6 p.m. Friday.
Pine Bluffs hosts Mitchell, Nebraska, at 6 tonight. The Hornets host Burns at 3 p.m. Saturday. Burns hosts Lusk at 4 p.m. Friday.
On the course
Central's cross-country teams will compete at the Durden Invitational in Arvada, Colorado, on Friday. South and Pine Bluffs will take part in the Rawlins Invitational on Friday.
On Saturday, East will run at the Andy Myers Invitational in Greeley, Colorado.
In the pool
Central swims at East at 4 p.m. Friday. South duals at Newcastle at 4 p.m. Friday. The Lady Bison will compete in the Newcastle Invite on Saturday.
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Jeremiah Johnke is the WyoSports editor. He can be reached at jjohnke@wyosports.net or 307-633-3137. Follow him on X at @jjohnke.
