DOUGLAS – Last week, the Wheatland High School varsity golf team competed at the Douglas Invitational, while the junior varsity competed at Glenrock. The varsity boys were seniors Brecken Sandlian, Dylan Nelson, and Isaac Cdebaca; sophomores Tate Nichols, Jacob Miller, Ace Keil; and freshmen Fletcher McKee. The varsity girls featured players Haylie Nelson and Tayen Wakkuri.
And just like that, with only two official practices under their belt, the competitive golf season was underway.
It only took one tournament to see that this year’s boys squad is loaded with talent. After the first day, the boys were leading the tournament by 14 shots over 4A powerhouse Kelly Walsh. The boys’ first day total of 300 was enough to break the one-day team school record by six shots.
The first day the boys were led by sophomore Tate Nichols who fired a sizzling round of 65 to break his own school record of 68. To make things sweeter, he was followed by seniors Dylan Nelson and Brecken Sandlian, who both shot 76 to find themselves in a three-way tie for second place. Rounding out the starting lineup was senior Isaac Cdebaca (83) and sophomore Jacob Miller (85). Playing as individuals, sophomore Ace Keil also shot a solid round of 80 and freshman Fletcher McKee shot 102.
Day two proved to be no different as the boys did not let off the pedal. Brecken Sandlian led the pack by shooting one under par to beat his competitive record by an amazing six shots, tallying a 70. He was followed by Tate Nichos (75), Dylan Nelson (76), Isaac Cdebaca (79), and Jacob Miller (80).  Individuals Keil and McKee shot 85 and 95 respectively.

When the tourney ended there were four Bulldog golfers who placed in the top ten: Tate Nichols (1st), Brecken Sandian (2nd), Dylan Nelson (4th), and Isaac Cdebaca (9th). Once again, another school record fell. The boys’ team score of another 300 left them with a two-day total of 600 which beat the record they set last year by 19 shots. This number also bested runner-up Kelly Walsh by 29 shots.
“This season has the making of something special for our boys squad. Those familiar with high school golf team scoring know that anytime a team flirts with a team one-day total of 300 and two-day total of 600, you are accomplishing something special.  To shoot that at Douglas is even more impressive because bad shots get exposed more so than other courses,” Coach Tony Nichols said. “The fact that we have probably ten golfers in our program that would make any 3A lineup in the state says it all. These young men have to go out and compete every day which takes the competitive culture in our practices to another level.”
Coach Nichols added, “Even though there is a team score in golf, the golfers themselves are on an island when it comes to battling for a spot. Anybody who has picked up a golf club understands the mental aspect of the game can beat you up when the tides turn because there are no teammates to mask your individual struggles during competition. We have three boys that are battling for our fifth spot that are within 10 shots of each other after 63 holes of qualifying. As a program, that is a good problem to have.”
A few things Coach Nichols said that put their potential into perspective are: the top four boys in the lineup have to average a score of 75; if one of the counting scores is higher than 75 another teammate has to score really low to balance out the score; and finally, looking at state tournament record archives over the last twenty years, the only scores that come close to a two day total of 600 is Riverton last year (606) and Lander in 2017 (601).
WHS Girls Golf
The girls squad is short one girl this year, so were unable to field a team score. That did not stop sophomores Haylee Nelson and Tayen Wakkuri from having a great first week and finding their place in the top ten. Nelson shot 87-92 for a fourth-place finish, while Wakkuri went 98-91 to finish in 7th place.
“I’m proud of these girls for going out and playing that well knowing they can’t field a team score. We were hoping we’d have one more girl come out this year to make that happen, but unfortunately that just hasn’t been the case. Honestly, with Nelson as a contender for an individual conference and state title and Wakkuri’s steady improvement, if we could find a girl that could shoot anywhere from 100-130, we’d have a chance to place at conference and state,” Coach Nichols said. “If there is a future bulldog lady golfer roaming the hallways of Wheatland High School, we’d love to have ya out. We know the season is short, but it’s not too late!”
The Bulldog golfers will be playing at home this week, Aug. 22 - 23. They will tee off at 10 a.m. on Thursday and 9 a.m. on Friday. The weather is looking great for both days, so it would be a great opportunity to come out and show some support for the golf team.
WHS JV Boys Golf
JV golfers competing in Glenrock for WHS were Casey Metz, Wyatt Fitzwater, and Jordan Downes.