What was a match-up of future Grand River Conference foes on Monday at the Riverside Country Club turned into golf’s version of a rout as Trenton handled Putnam County on the links with relative ease. Trenton posted a team score of 167 on a misty afternoon at the club, 38 strokes better than the mark of 205 carded by Putnam County.
All four of Trenton’s varsity scores were lower than Putnam’s lowest mark and the Bulldogs’ fifth score equaled Putnam’s lowest mark on the day. Taking medalist honors was Nate Swann, who held off teammate Cade Mullenix for that honor.
Swann parred two holes in the round and carded a birdie on two. He bogeyed the remaining six holes to arrive at his dual-low score of 39. A consistent day for Cade Mullenix saw the senior record four pars over a five-hole stretch in the middle of his round as he finished as runner-up with a 41.
Cree Mullenix was one stroke off his brother’s score, finishing at 42. The younger Mullenix had three pars and birdied the fifth hole. Triple bogeys on one and eight, however, kept him out of the medal hunt.
Rounding out the Bulldogs’ total was freshman Lathan Croy, who shot a 45 and parred two holes on the day. Corbyn Guile was also in varsity action for Trenton, shooting a 46 with a par on five.
“It was typical spring weather,” Trenton Coach Travis Mullenix said. “The greens were very wet with the mist and I think both teams had some difficulty adjusting to their speed. Nate Swann had a good day, he just missed a couple of short putts. Cade rebounded well after a tough match last Wednesday.”
In junior varsity action, Trenton carded a team score of 175, while Putnam County had just two JV golfers, thus no team score.
Nick Gass led the Trenton JV shooting a 40, just one stroke off the varsity medalist score of 39. Gass carded four pars in the round. Luke Lewis, Tucker Franklin and Jake Klinginsmith all had scores of 45 to round out the JV’s team mark. Conner Lovell was also in JV action, shooting a 52.
“Our JV played extremely well,” Mullenix said. “Nick Gass had a great day, shooting his best score of the year. It was nice to see him turn in a good score. Luke Lewis played outstanding. I’m sure that is his best nine-hole score of his career and I am very proud of his progress. Jake and Tucker had solid rounds as well. 175 is a real good JV score.”
The Bulldogs, now 2-0 in dual action, have a busy week and are back in action today, traveling to Brookfield for their first road dual of the year. Tee time for the dual is scheduled for 4 p.m. Trenton will also be in action on Thursday, at the rescheduled Park Hill Tournament in Kansas City at 9 a.m., and Friday at a dual in Marceline at 4 p.m.