Wimberley High School golfer Jaxon Donaldson smiled big and leaned back in his seat: “I’m excited because we’re going down to Victoria as a team. We have a real chance to get out of regionals and get to the state tournament as a group, and that’s a new experience for me. I’m really happy about it.”
Donaldson won a state championship in 2021 as a freshman and finished with a silver medal last season, qualifying for regionals as a result of his individual scores. Coach Dane Saucier’s Texan golf team moves on to the regional event after finishing second in district to Boerne High School by four strokes March 29–30 at Vaaler Creek Golf Course in Blanco.
The team is young. Hollis Echols is a freshman. Cody Stoever and Nolan Waida are sophomores, and juniors Donaldson, Ethan Sharp and Kellar Cudney round out the team from district. Sharp will play at the regional tournament as Waida competes at the area track meet coming up.
“They each bring an important piece to the team,” Saucier shared. “Kellar is out there every single day and does a really good job. His 76 on day two at district was our low score for the day. He was kind of the heart and soul pulling us through to finish second. Ethan Sharp is solid, and we can count on his consistency.”
“Hollis Echols is a freshman, and he’s done big things for us this year. He didn’t play quite as well as he wanted at district, but he’s got that determination to fight back at regionals,” he continued. “Cody’s a competitor. He’s gonna find a way to get the ball in the hole. As a golfer, one of the greatest compliments you can get is figuring out a way to win, and that’s the type of guy he is.”
“Jaxon is going to be solid. We kind of get used to Jaxon being Jaxon and shooting low scores at every tournament. But golf is a hard sport, and he didn’t play as well as he wanted to. [Since then], he’s really worked hard and shot three under at practice the other day. I think you’ll see him and in prime fashion,” Saucier concluded.
Stoever, Waida, Donaldson and Saucier shared the same observations. First, the district and the region are stacked. Though the competition makes getting to state difficult, it strengthens the team, increasing their potential to go further. Second, the relationship among the team is a unique variable and serves as an encouragement for each member. Donaldson said he has experienced incredible individual success over the past couple of years but appreciates the nature of what the team success brings forward.
“I think that at district, we came out and put two good rounds together — though definitely not our best,” commented Stoever. “The most important part is that we’re moving on, and we’re gonna get a shot to prove ourselves at regionals. We’ve got five guys that want to work hard to succeed and play for each other.”
“It’s a fun group of guys and I’m excited to see what we can do,” he added.
Donaldson was reflective, considering the state of the team and their possibilities.
“My dad asked me how I felt about not winning district and if I was frustrated,” he said. “I told him it almost feels like a win because the team made it out this time, so I get to do regionals with them. That’s the first time that’s happened in my high school career. So, I look at it like I advanced — that’s the whole goal until you get to state — and I get to do it with my buddies.”
Saucier coached golf earlier in his Wimberley career and picked it back up in the past few years upon Jeff McDormand’s retirement. Saucier sid he does not recall a Texan team competing at the regional tournament for an opportunity to advance to state. To do that, the team has to master the conditions of the course in Victoria.
“The course of Victoria is not an extremely hard course, but when the wind starts blowing, it gets difficult. Kids have to learn how to play in those windy conditions, and that’s what we’re working on,” noted Saucier. “At times, you might get a shot from 100 yards with a club you usually hit from 100 yards and come up short hitting in the wind. Then, you’ve got to get an up and down from right on from the green.”
The team will take the ride to Colony Creek in Victoria to begin play on Wednesday and Thursday, April 19 and 20.
“It’s a fun relationship. You know, we all take care of each other, we all help each other. But we’re really competitive,” Donaldson said. “But when it comes tournament time, we’re right behind each other, rooting for each other.”
As challenging and rewarding as the boys’ season has been, Coach Saucier faced a different challenge with his varsity girls golf team this year. An understatement would be to say they were inexperienced. The truth is that each one of the girls probably played their first 18 holes of golf they ever played in their lives this season.
Regardless of the experience level, what the team achieved over the course of a few weeks is special. They improved weekly to the point of winning a tournament late in the season at Seguin.
“These kids have done an outstanding job throughout the course of the year getting better in tournament play,” Saucier said. “They had a really good year even if things didn’t work out the way we wanted at the district tournament.”
Davenport and Boerne High Schools were the class of the district and moved on to the regional tournament. Both teams have the potential to compete at a high enough level to reach state.
“You can’t take anything away from our girls from the beginning to the end. As a coach, all you can ask is for them to try hard and see that they care about their improvement,” Saucier shared.
The team consisted of Ivy Beck, Camille Chavez, Lydia Krause, Lexi Kruzie, Paige Merriman and Jesse Weeks. Weeks and Chavez were low shooters at the district tournament held March 27–28 at Buckhorn Golf Course in Comfort.
Saucier reflected on the growth and attitude of the young ladies.
“Obviously, just them learning the game to begin with was a big deal,” he explained. “Once they got through that, we broke down some of the finer aspects of the game and really worked hard on their short game. On the bus ride back home, we were talking about being smarter with their short game and doing some things a little different. When we pick it back up next year with experience and the extra time they spend working on it, they’ll be that much better.”
