Giles earns 4A state title for Phoenix

Published 10:45 am Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Carrying on a family legacy, Phoenix freshman Jordan Giles never flinched during challenging times as he stormed to the Class 4A boys golf state championship Tuesday at Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell.

Giles capped off a tremendous debut season for the Pirates by posting a 3-over-par 75 on Day 2 of the state tournament, allowing him to win by three strokes with a two-day total of 147.

Molalla junior Massimo Cereghino was runner-up with a 75 in each round for a 150 total, followed by North Bend junior Owen Bascom (152).

It was the second state championship clinched in the Giles household, after older sister Daniele Giles shared the 5A girls state title in 2015 when she was playing at Crater High.

The last boys title won by a Phoenix golfer was in 2009 by Daniel Engle.

“It was pretty exciting,” said Phoenix golf coach Brent Bowker of Giles’ winning performance. “Jordan’s played in a lot of tournaments since he was young. He’s been playing Oregon Junior Golf Association tournaments for probably the last five or six summers and has done real well, and it’s just carried over. He’s a real driven kid to succeed and puts in the time, and it definitely paid off.”

Giles shot even-par during Monday’s round but the wind picked up on Day 2 and made things a little trickier for those on the course in the afternoon.

After posting three birdies and three bogeys Monday, Giles was tagged with back-to-back double bogeys on the ninth and 10th holes but scrambled his way back nicely. He totaled three birdies, two bogeys and two double bogeys in his final round — finishing with four straight pars to keep his opposition at bay.

“It was really breezy today,” said Bowker. “Everyone in the afternoon shot higher than they had done on the previous day, so it didn’t surprise me that Jordan was a little over, but he didn’t let the pressure get to him when he went double-double. It was pretty exciting watching him finish.”

Bowker was also the head coach at Crater when Daniele Giles and Kiana Oshiro came through — the duo earned consecutive state titles — and all season had faith that Jordan Giles could reach that same championship goal.

“Because Daniele was into it, he kind of followed her lead in golf and he picked it up and he definitely has run with it ever since he started playing,” said Bowker. “I saw him out on the course back then and knew that if he really worked at it he was going to be something special. Coming into the season, I knew that he was capable of (winning a state title).”

Giles was the shining star here locally for a host of tremendous efforts during the respective state championships that wrapped up Tuesday, with Grants Pass placing its boys and girls teams among the top-four finishers in third and fourth, respectively, at the 6A level.

South Medford was also able to stir things up a little in the 6A boys tournament, with sophomore Jed Johnson carving out a pair of 77s to finish tied for 18th overall with a 154 total at Quail Valley Golf Course in Banks.

With Day 1 Panthers leader Kyle Snowden adding an 82 to his first-round 76 — he finished tied for 27th — South Medford’s boys golf team wound up ninth at 644 overall.

Playing as an individual, North Medford senior Andrew Plankenhorn cut two strokes off his opening round with a 78 to join Snowden in the pack at 27th overall with a 158 total.

South Medford’s Payton Woolf tied for 52nd (189) as this area’s top mark in the 6A girls state championships at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis.

St. Mary’s posted a pair of fourth-place efforts in the 4A/3A/2A/1A girls tournament as well as the 3A/2A/1A boys event.

The Crusader girls saw Emma Wheelock tie for 11th overall after she used a second-day 85 to finish with a 180 total at Tokatee Golf Club in McKenzie Bridge. St. Mary’s managed a 779 total to finish only seven shots behind runner-up Crook County (772). Salem Academy won the event with a 758, and North Bend was third (773).

Davis Jones tied for 12th (165) and Chengtse Kao was 15th (167) to lead the way for the St. Mary’s boys, who scored a 700 to finish behind Bandon (655), Valley Catholic (677) and Banks (693) at Emerald Valley.

The Cascade Christian boys placed ninth overall, with Jesse Burke finishing 34th at 185 overall. Caleb Parker was a nonscorer on Day 1 for the Challengers — only the top-four totals count toward team score — but wound up finishing 38th among the individuals with a team-best 88 on Day 2.

Individual players ruled the day at the boys and girls 5A state championships, with Crater’s Hannah Hilty placing 15th overall with a two-day 181 and Eagle Point’s Alyssa Ortega standing 36th (205) at Trysting Tree.

On the boys side, Ashland’s Josh Moran scored the top local mark behind a second-day 79 that pushed him into 16th place (162). Grizzlies teammate Isaac Larson tied for 39th (175), while Crater’s contingent of Ryan Fowler (41st, 176) and Markus Knouff (tied for 43rd, 178) were grouped together at Quail Valley.

CLASS 6A BOYS

TEAM SCORES: Jesuit 292-303—595, Lake Oswego 307-293—600, Grants Pass 303-313—616, Westview 304-315—619, West Linn 324-303—627, Sherwood 307-325—632, Glencoe 313-323—636, Newberg 334-305—639, South Medford 319-325—644, Central Catholic 319-333—652, Tigard 339-322—661, Ida B. Wells 325-341—666, Sheldon 329-341—670, West Salem 359-369—728.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 5): 1, Drew Woolworth, Lake Oswego, 69-68—137; 2, Andy Yang, Westview, 73-72—145; T3, Mason Ho, Reynolds, 74-72—146, and Nilay Naik, Lakeridge, 73-73—146, and Carson Krauss, Grants Pass, 74-72—146, and Mason Zimmerman, Jesuit, 72-74—146, and Ray Greller, Newberg, 77-69—146.

Other Local Results

T27, Andrew Plankenhorn, North Medford, 80-78—158.

GRANTS PASS (616): T3, Carson Krauss, 74-72—146; 21, Messiah Gilbert, 73-82—155; T35, James Bushmiaer, 79-81—160; Brevik Hill 77-Trey Alderson 78—155.

SOUTH MEDFORD (644): T18, Jed Johnson, 77-77—154; T27, Kyle Snowden, 76-82—158; T47, Blake Boutwell, 82-83—165; T56, Bodhi Hochendoner, 84-83—167.

CLASS 6A GIRLS

TEAM SCORES: Lake Oswego 316-316—632, Sunset 317-329—646, Jesuit 319-330—649, Grants Pass 323-346—669, Mountainside 329-345—674, Sheldon 360-355—715, Sherwood 369-353—722, Tualatin 365-357—722, Nelson 353-376—729, Cleveland 361-375—736, Sprague 360-380—740, Grant 363-379—742, McNary 374-410—784, West Linn 403-399—802.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 5): 1, Kate Lee, Jesuit, 70-71—141; T2, Maya Promwongsa, Tualatin, 70-72—142, and Melinee Udom, Westview, 71-71—142; 4, Kristine Shin, Mountainside, 72-71—143; T5, Kate Ly, Cleveland, 74-73—147, and Hailey Lim, Lake Oswego, 75-72—147.

Other Local Results

T52, Payton Woolf, South Medford, 92-97—189; 74, Chloe Leavens, South Medford, 98-104—202.

GRANTS PASS (669): T19, Chloe Daywitt, 82-84—166, and Julia Booth, 80-86—166; T31, Annalisa Norland, 84-90—174; Jaylee Hix 77-Ava Guthrie 86—163.

CLASS 5A BOYS

TEAM SCORES: Summit 303-304—607, La Salle Prep 315-311—626, Wilsonville 320-332—652, Corvallis 334-326—660, Crescent Valley 331-345—676, Thurston 340-342—682, Dallas 334-358—692, Ridgeview 347-356—703.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 5): 1, Jonas Caddell, La Salle Prep, 76-71—147; T2, Luke Sidhu, Wilsonville, 75-76—151, and Owen Harper, Summit, 76-75—151, and Bryce Grieb, Summit, 77-74—151; T5, Jakob Hansen, Summit, 74-78—152, and Michael Flaherty, Wilsonville, 74-78—152, and Matthew Martin, La Salle Prep, 75-77—152.

Other Local Results

16, Josh Moran, Ashland, 83-79—162; T39, Isaac Larson, Ashland, 89-86—175; 41, Ryan Fowler, Crater, 90-86—176; T43, Markus Knouff, Crater, 86-92—178.

CLASS 5A GIRLS

TEAM SCORES: Wilsonville 333-347—680, Summit 356-360—716, North Eugene 376-387—763, La Salle Prep 389-382—771, Silverton 396-419—815, Dallas 399-416—815, Crescent Valley 411-413—824, Caldera 412-415—827.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 5): 1, Francesca Tomp, North Eugene, 70-75—145; 2, Anna Latimer, Caldera, 81-76—157; 3, Saylor Gillet, Summit, 77-81—158; 4, Evie Dunn, Wilsonville, 77-84—161; 5, Olivia Grandberry, Thurston, 77-85—162.

Other Local Results

15, Hannah Hilty, Crater, 87-94—181; 36, Alyssa Ortega, Eagle Point, 102-103—205.

CLASS 4A BOYS

TEAM SCORES: Marist 332-327—659, Baker/Powder Valley 328-335—663, North Bend 357-346—703, Scappoose 346-357—703, Cascade 343-360—703, Seaside 351-356—707, Crook County 365-348—713, Marshfield 353-361—714, Pendleton/Griswold 380-388—768, Tillamook 376-403—779, Mazama 416-415—831, Henley 458-461—919.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 5): 1, Jordan Giles, Phoenix, 72-75—147; 2, Massimo Cereghino, Molalla, 75-75—150; 3, Owen Bascom, North Bend, 77-75—152; T4, Isaiah Jones, Baker/Powder Valley, 79-79—158, and Christian Guerrero, Marist, 80-78—158.

CLASS 4A/3A/2A/1A GIRLS

TEAM SCORES: Salem Academy 390-368—758, Crook County 390-382—772, North Bend 383-390—773, St. Mary’s 401-378—779, Marshfield 399-393—792, Marist 394-399—793, La Grande 388-410—798, Banks 420-414—834, Valley Catholic 428-413—841, Pendleton/Griswold 418-433—851, St. Helens 431-429—860, Blanchet Catholic 457-440—897.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 5): 1, Madeleine Conser, Valley Catholic, 77-73—150; T2, Vishaka Priyan, Catlin Gabel, 77-79—156, and Cassie Kennon, North Bend, 76-80—156; 4, Esha Reddy, Marist, 79-80—159; 5, Kylee Smith, La Pine, 81-89—170.

Other Local Results

ST. MARY’S (779): T11, Emma Wheelock, 95-85—180; 22, Cassidy Arnold, 103-92—195; T23, Chelsea Horn, 97-99—196; 33, Amanda Su, 106-102—208.

CLASS 3A/2A/1A BOYS

TEAM SCORES: Bandon 318-337—655, Valley Catholic 341-336—677, Banks 355-338—693, St. Mary’s 349-351—700, Western Christian 348-352—700, Siuslaw 356-359—715, East Linn Christian Academy 386-370—756, Oregon Episcopal 390-370—760, Cascade Christian 383-381—764, Burns 395-377—772, Trinity Lutheran 384-408—792, Vale 432-406—838.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 5): 1, Davis Hartwell, Crosspoint Christian, 73-68—141; 2, Benny Zhu, Valley Catholic, 75-76—151; T3, Lucas Vanderlip, Brookings-Harbor, 79-74—153, and Sevren Quinn, Bandon, 75-78—153; 5, Peyton Simonds, Bandon, 76-80—156.

Other Local Results

ST. MARY’S (700): T12, Davis Jones, 81-84—165; 15, Chengtse Kao, 81-86—167; T29, Bill Kao, 91-88—179; 37, Cooper Anderson, 96-93—189.

CASCADE CHRISTIAN (764): 34, Jesse Burke, 89-96—185; 44, Ben Turek, 94-101—195; T47, Colton Waits, 101-96—197; Charlee Magee 99-Caleb Parker 88—187.

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