Douglas High’s Brock Walters shakes the hand of Reno’s Ryan Cavanaugh after finishing as the Class 5A North boys regional champ at Sierra Sage Golf Course on Tuesday. Walters won the regional crown with a 75-70–145, winning the title by five strokes.
Photo by Carter Eckl.
Last season in Class 2A, Brock Walters ran away with the Northern Region boys golf title, winning by 12 strokes.
After moving from Sierra Lutheran to Douglas High, Walters remains a champion, backing up his first regional title with a second at Sierra Sage Golf Course on Tuesday.
Walters trailed by one stroke going into the second day of the two-day event, but posted a 1-under 70 to win by five strokes with a final tally of 145.
Second place was Reno’s Ryan Cavanaugh, who ended the two-day event with a 74-76–150.
“It feels great. It wasn’t surprising, but it was a battle out there,” said Walters. “Yesterday was pretty bad with the winds. You kind of just had to survive. It was fun today (Tuesday).”
Walters has been golfing for 10 years and is a staple on the junior golf circuits.
He said his grandmother was the one who got him into the sport.
“My grandparents are probably really excited right now,” said Walters. “They knew I had it in me. I knew I had it in myself, too. It’ll be a good celebration, but a quick celebration.”
Walters says he’s familiar with some of the golfers from Las Vegas and looks forward to potentially playing alongside friends on May 17-18 at the Class 5A state tournament.
(The Douglas High boys golf team poses after qualifying for the Class 5A state golf tournament Tuesday evening at Sierra Sage Golf Course. Pictured, from left, are Brock Walters, Reese Torres, Wyatt Prather, Grant Stephens, Jace DesJardins and Hatcher Leiknes. The Tigers will be at Red Hawk Golf Course for the state tournament May 17 and 18. Carter Eckl / Nevada Appeal)
Tigers headed to state
Walters wasn’t the only notable performance of the regional tourney as the Tigers as a team punched their ticket to the 5A state tournament at Red Hawk Golf Course.
All three teams that qualified for state finished within two strokes of each other.
Reno won the team title with a score of 647, Spanish Springs was second with a 648 and Douglas was the final team to automatically qualify (649).
Behind Walters was Grant Stephens, who finished 10th as an individual.
Stephens put together a two-day score of 88-76–164.
Wyatt Prather was 19th with a score of 85-86–171 while Reese Torres (93-83–176) and Jace DesJardins (102-79–181) were the next two in the clubhouse.
Hatcher Leiknes posted a 101-94–195.
Preparing for state won’t be a significant mental hurdle for Walters, who said he tries to approach every tournament the same way.
The sophomore says staying calm and being level-headed on the course has proven to be his greatest strength.
“I think it’s my composure, my mentality,” Walters said. “I really take it slow. Stay neutral no matter what score you get and just have a great attitude out there.”
Carson High results
For Carson High boys golf, Tristan Hawkins was the lone finisher, posting a 92-79–171 to finish tied for 19th.
In the final round, Hawkins had 11 pars and a birdie over his last 14 holes.
